Fashion Design Circularity. Reimagining development models to transform the system.

The idea that circular fashion revolves solely around materials and technology is refuted, as it also involves shifts in behavior and attitude. The fashion industry is undergoing a significant transformation from being market-driven to adopting a purpose-driven production model spurred by consumers’ demand for sustainability. The CE that Stahel championed in his paper, “The Product-Life Factor” (1972), is emerging as a leading solution to industry challenges. While SMEs play a crucial role in this transition, they face challenges in integrating circular practices fully. There is a clear need for fashion companies to embrace comprehensive approaches to circularity by emphasizing holistic development strategies. This book’s goal is to define FDC by highlighting the designer’s pivotal role throughout the design process, from research methods and product system comprehension to contextual interpretation and envisioning use scenarios. It advocates for reshaping roles, processes, and materials and fostering innovation in the fashion industry while driving a transition from linear to circular systems. This work underscores the significance of a collaborative and comprehensive approach, and highlights design’s pivotal role in steering the fashion industry toward sustainability. It showcases the way that purpose-driven and design-centric strategies are transforming the fashion landscape, and illustrates such approaches’ profound effect as the industry evolves toward circularity.