Design Project
Bridging ethical fashion and
consumer trends
The Problem
Clothing is being disposed of in landfills at an alarming rate, largely due to the rapid turnover encouraged by the fast fashion industry. This constant cycle of purchasing and discarding is unsustainable. Adding to the problem, being a conscious consumer is challenging. How might we develop a retail experience that tackles the fast fashion crisis and truly appeals to consumers?
My Contributions
Guided by systems thinking, I developed a framework, brand and platform to address the fast fashion crisis for the modern, young consumer. This is a passion project, and I explored every aspect, from concept to research and design as a self-initiated task.
Background
Fast fashion is one of the most urgent and complex issues of the 21st century. Despite its significant social and environmental impact, the damage caused by the industry is often seen as either insurmountable or irrelevant to the everyday consumer.
While “slow fashion” offers a more ethical and sustainable alternative, it remains inaccessible to most consumers due to barriers such as cost, convenience, and lack of appealing style options. The fast fashion crisis is a deeply rooted, systemic issue tied to colonial histories, economic inequalities, and a relentless cycle of overconsumption. Solving it requires not only transparency and accountability from brands but also better-designed pathways for consumers to make ethical, affordable, and stylish choices. I tackled part of this problem by addressing consumer behaviour and needs.
Research
Through desktop research, I began to gather quantative data to understand the problem space. I then explored fast fashion consumers and their motivations as it was an essential part of the fast fashion ecosystem that needed exploring. My research revealed many factors [range, cost, convenience and trendiness] leading to consumers [primarily Gen Z and Millennials] adopting fast fashion shopping practices, which I used as the basis for developing a set of user personas.
Design Response
Aste is an online retailer and concept store dedicated to selling ethically and sustainably made garments from trusted and trasparent brands. It is a direct response to the fast fashion crisis that has emerged in previous decades and it is a transliteration of the Bengali word আস্তে meaning slow and gentle. The name is not only in honour of the often unfairly treated garment workers in countries across the Global South like Bangladesh who manufacture our clothes but is also a pledge to do things differently. There is no singular fix to the fast fashion crisis but Aste is playing its part and slowing down for the sake of people and planet.