Date of Award
Spring 6-2-2018
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Industrial Design
Department
Industrial Design
First Advisor
Catherine Andreozzi
Second Advisor
Hannah Carlson
Third Advisor
Pamela Sense-Cooke
Abstract
Clothing mediates between the individual and the social. It creates a dialogue between our inner selves and our environments, a dialogue that becomes especially fraught for women at work. Focusing on women’s workwear in male-dominated fields, this thesis calls attention to the existing cultural norms in work environments that solidify dated gender expectations and biases. It suggests that the fashion industry has not adequately addressed the sartorial and emotional needs of everyday working women, and intervenes by placing wearers at the center of the design process. By applying needs-driven solutions and user research to a psychologically powerful force like fashion, this thesis explores the merging of fashion with industrial design. At the heart of the project lies the question, can the implementation of industrial design thinking into fashion address complex issues like gender biases in work environments?
Recommended Citation
Efstratoudakis, Erica, "Idiosyncratic uniform" (2018). Masters Theses. 248.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/248
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