The Smart Wardrobe

A wardrobe that keeps a record of how many clothes a user has and how many times each item is worn. It profiles each item with the composition of the material and an estimate of how many wash cycles it can endure. The mirror has an AR feature for users to see what they look like in different outfits before grabbing them out of the wardrobe which can save time. It can suggest outfits based on the time of day, activity and dress code. The wardrobe will help users to appreciate all the clothing that they own and alerts users if an item has not been worn in a long time to prompt them to either donate the clothing or sell it to someone else. The main goal of the wardrobe is to encourage the users to embrace slow fashion and work towards a circular economy. If users intend to throw clothes away, the wardrobe can educate them on the length of time it takes for their clothes to break down and users will move away from synthetic fabrics to more durable and sustainable fashion.

My inspiration for this wardrobe came from The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up (Kondo & Hirano, 2014), the Slow Fashion movement (Jung & Jin, 2014), and the Low Impact/Zero Waste Movement (Cleanlink, 2019). For the mirror AR example in my poster I used the Lily Story app on Android. There are already mobile applications out there that keep a log of different outfits, but it would be fascinating to explore this space with an environmental approach.

References

Franco-García ML., Carpio-Aguilar J.C., Bressers H. (2019) Towards Zero Waste, Circular Economy Boost: Waste to Resources. In: Franco-García ML., Carpio-Aguilar J., Bressers H. (eds) Towards Zero Waste. Greening of Industry Networks Studies, vol 6. Springer, Cham

Jung, S., & Jin, B. (2014). A theoretical investigation of slow fashion: Sustainable future of the apparel industry. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 38(5), 510-519.

Kondō, M., & Hirano, C. (2014). The life-changing magic of tidying up: The Japanese art of decluttering and organizing (First American edition.). Berkeley: Ten Speed Press.

Štefko, R., & Steffek, V. (2018). Key Issues in Slow Fashion: Current Challenges and Future Perspectives. Sustainability, 10(7), 2270.

Berggren, M. (2019, September 6). Fast Fashion Vs Slow Fashion – Difference & Advantages.

Retrieved from https://wearandsmile.com/blog/fast-fashion-vs-slow-fashion/

Cleanlink. (2019, November 23). Entertainment Company Sets Zero Waste Goals.

Retrieved from https://www.cleanlink.com/news/article/Entertainment-Company-Sets-Zero-Waste-Goals--23231

N.d. (2020) Ultimate 48 in. W - 96 in. W White Wood Closet System.

Retrieved from https://www.homedepot.com/p/Closet-Evolution-Ultimate-48-in-W-96-in-W-White-Wood-Closet-System-WH19/311040600