Emotionally Durable Design
Societal awareness around the many problematic aspects of the textile and fashion industry has been growing, which has required a thorough restructuring of the fashion system.
Sustainability and the circular economy are important themes in the textile and clothing chain, and there are more and more companies that want to play a role in the transition to a circular fashion system. The starting point of this project was that the linear disposable system was untenable, and that an alternative system must be developed in which the reuse of raw materials, products and materials was central.
The Emotionally Durable Design project, by the ArtEZ Centre of Expertise Future Makers and the Fashion Professorship, aimed to reframe and rethink the notion of ‘emotional durability’ in debates on sustainability in fashion discourse by exploring the emotional value of the textiles of the company Vlisco as a case study. The role of design in creating an emotional connection with fashion objects was explored. It’s about creating a deeper, more sustainable bond and long-lasting relationship between people and objects. This is based on the idea that people would take better care of and hold on longer to their clothes, instead of rapidly throwing them away, as we often do.
This project highlighted the importance of taking into account a value-based approach focused on wellbeing when aiming to instigate more sustainable design strategies and consumer behaviour. The aim was to create emotionally durable design strategies that could help fashion to move beyond its obsession with growth.