This session introduces use forecasting as a design concept through which fashion design practice can be redirected toward circular economy objectives. It argues that while fashion design routinely anticipates future aesthetics through trend forecasting, it rarely gives comparable attention to how garments are likely to be used, rested, modified, or recirculated over time. Use forecasting addresses this gap by foregrounding the use phase of the garment lifecycle as a critical site of design intervention.
The perspective advanced is that sustainability in fashion cannot be achieved through incremental improvements to materials or production systems alone. Rather, it requires a reconsideration of how garments are designed in anticipation of ongoing use and reuse. By incorporating capacity for repair, adaptation, refashioning, and redistribution into garment design, designers can enable extended and more intensive use, thereby postponing obsolescence and disposal. Framing garments as entities with multiple potential futures, use forecasting positions design as a key contributor to the transition from linear fashion systems toward more circular and enduring modes of fashion production and use.
With a background in fashion design practice and entrepreneurship, I now work in tertiary fashion education and research. My research focuses on the role of design in sustainability transitions in the textiles sector, particularly debates around circular economy models and sustainable clothing consumption shaped by policy, industry, academia, and public discourse. I am especially interested in how aesthetics and extrinsic factors such as trends influence clothing longevity and everyday wear practices.
Reference
Cramer, Joanne (2021). Use Forecasting: Designing Fashion Garments for Extended Use. Muthu, Subramanian Senthilkannan; Gardetti, Angel Miguel (Red.). Sustainable Design in Textiles and Fashion. s. 85-104. Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2466-7_5