In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has been increasingly adopted across the textile value chain. Within textile characterisation, AI is now being used to augment both objective instrumentation (e.g. mechanical, spectroscopic, imaging, and thermal methods) and subjective assessments of fabric handle and comfort. This review focuses on (i) characterisation modalities commonly used for fibres, yarns, fabrics (woven/knit/nonwoven), and post-consumer garments; (ii) AI task families relevant to characterisation; and (iii) how AI can support interpretation, automation, and decision-making for FAST/KES-type mechanical tests, FTIR, SEM, and thermal analysis (DSC/TGA/DMA). AI for fashion design, trend forecasting, and purely creative generative applications is outside the scope unless directly linked to characterisation outcomes. Beyond a broad overview, the review contributes a unified taxonomy that maps characterisation modalities to AI tasks and data types, synthesises cross-cutting limitations, and proposes practical reporting and benchmarking recommendations to improve reproducibility and comparability. Finally, implications for textile recycling are discussed, where robust material identification and contamination detection can enable higher-quality sorting and recovery in circular systems.
Greenwashing in the apparel industry involves deceptive marketing practices where companies misrepresent products as environmentally friendly by fabricating or withholding details about their content or manufacturing processes. Given consumers' reliance on advertisements and company-provided information, this study assessed young adults' ability to differentiate genuine green apparel products from greenwashed ones. A survey was conducted with 66 college students aged 18-31, featuring advertisements for two women's apparel items and one handbag under fictitious brand names. Participants' perceived environmental knowledge (PEK), environmental concern (EC), green purchasing attitudes (GPA), and perceived greenwashing (eco-score) were analyzed using a mixed-effects model. Results revealed high scores across scales, indicating strong environmental knowledge and awareness. However, participants exhibited skepticism, with an average eco-score of 4.297 (p < .001) for eco-friendly ads. GPA significantly influenced eco-scores (b = - 0.226, p < .001), highlighting the need for consumer education to foster critical thinking, eco-literacy, and informed green purchasing decisions.
The kids' luxury apparel has seen remarkable growth in the last few years. The rising incomes, brand recognition, and the shift in consumption habits are few factors boosting the growth. This research examines the determinants influencing the purchase intentions of mothers towards luxury apparel brands for children using the Theory of Consumption Values. The survey of 390 mothers was conducted, who had to fulfil specific criteria concerning their awareness, affordability, and availability of luxury apparel brands. The results show that functional, emotional, and epistemic values have a strong impact on the purchase intentions of mothers, whereas other values demonstrate relatively lower impacts. Furthermore, discriminant analysis shows that age groups of mothers vary in regard to values that affect the purchase of luxury apparel for kids. The research will help fill the existing sparse literature on luxury consumption among kids and provides practical contribution to luxury apparel marketers.
The transition toward more sustainable fashion consumption is crucial for addressing global ecological and social challenges. Informed consumer choices play a central role in this transition but rely on adequate knowledge of fashion sustainability. To date, no scientifically robust measure exists to assess such knowledge. This study addresses this gap by developing a comprehensive scale of consumers' objective knowledge of fashion sustainability. Drawing on current literature, existing scales, and consumer feedback (n = 319), and validated through qualitative interviews with two fashion experts, an initial item pool was created. Using Item Response Theory (IRT), a 25-item scale was developed, capturing system, action-related, and effectiveness knowledge across all three dimensions of sustainability and the entire product life cycle. The scale was tested with 394 participants, demonstrating appropriate item difficulty distribution. This instrument provides a reliable, extendable measure of consumer knowledge, supporting further research to promote sustainable fashion consumption.
Jute, a natural fibre, has historically been constrained by its stiffness and poor crease recovery, limiting its wearability. Recent advances have addressed these issues by mixing and blending jute with other fibres and applying finishing techniques. However, little research has investigated consumer attitudes towards and willingness to buy jute mixed garments. This is the first study to investigate consumer behaviour towards jute mixed garments based on the functional, expressive, and aesthetic (FEA) consumer needs model and the theory of reasoned action (TRA). A web-based in-person survey was conducted with undergraduate students from a southeastern university. Multiple regression analysis via SPSS revealed that consumers formed a positive attitude towards jute mixed garments due to their positive FEA perception and later formed favourable purchase intention towards it. This study offered valuable insights for designers, manufacturers, and brands about how jute-mixed garments can be positioned as sustainable, mainstream fashion options.
With the rapid adoption of AI in fashion merchandising, there is an increasing need for students to develop AI literacy to meet evolving industry demands. However, higher education faces challenges due to limited discipline-specific pedagogical practices, insufficient student training, and a lack of AI-integrated curricula. Grounded in Bloom's Taxonomy Revisited and IDEO's 3I design thinking framework, this study introduces the #AIforfashionedu toolkit-a how-to-guide toolkit comprising AI-integrated learning activities. These activities were qualitatively implemented in three fashion merchandising-related courses at U.S. institutions. A total of 195 student reflection papers were collected, analysed, and evaluated using a thematic analysis approach. The findings indicate that integrating AI into fashion merchandising activities can enhance students' higher-order cognitive skills related to AI literacy while underscoring the importance of a "human-in-the-loop" approach for responsible AI use. This study contributes to AI-integrated pedagogical research in fashion merchandising and offers actionable guidance for future educational implementation.
The fashion design process is a complex system of interconnected exploratory research steps, including concept development, design ideation, sketching, fabric selection, patternmaking, and construction, which lead to a final product design. This study analyses the effectiveness of a fashion design project brief that uses insects as the conceptual starting point to enhance students' understanding of this design process. A literature review establishes a contextual framework for the fashion design process and explores the relationship between insects and dress from a historical and contemporary perspective.Qualitative and quantitative research methods are applied to assess a series of structured assignments developed in a sketchbook, aimed at generating ideas toward an experimental garment design. The project, implemented with second-year undergraduate fashion and textile design students, highlights nature as a useful conceptual catalyst in fashion design, and underlines the importance of sketchbooks as a tool in the design process.
This study aimed to develop smart gloves with improved wearability for hand self-rehabilitation exercises for stroke patients. To this end, we applied the co-design process comprising the five stages of understanding, defining, ideation, customisation, and evaluation. Throughout the process, we employed a mixed-methods data collection strategy that included interviews, 3D body scanning, user journey maps, and usability evaluations. Taking a recursive process, multiple glove designs were ideated, and prototyped to meet users' needs and achieve desired wearability through customised fit. The results of usability evaluations confirmed significant improvements in wearability, convenience, acceptability, satisfaction, and overall task time (all p < .05). Furthermore, participants indicated positive outlooks on the co-design process and resulting product outcomes. Findings affirmed practical benefits of the co-design process with actual patients as an effective means to develop assistive wearable devices closely aligned with users' physical and clinical needs, thus provoking motivation to use them in real life.
This paper explores the integration of CLO3D into fashion education through the Focus on Detail: Focus on Denim project, assessing its impact on learning outcomes, sustainability, and digital innovation. The project follows a three-phase approach, transitioning from traditional pattern cutting to digital workflows and final physical garment production. Findings suggest that a hybrid educational model, balancing tactile craftsmanship with digital fluency, yields superior student adaptability, technical proficiency, and sustainability awareness. This study contributes to discussions on digital transformation in fashion education, highlighting CLO3D's role in industry alignment, reduced fabric waste, and enhanced design accuracy.
Digital fashion, also known as e-fashion, digital couture, and virtual fashion, is rapidly emerging as a significant phenomenon within the fashion industry and digital culture. While digital garments have long been popular in gaming, their adoption has expanded to everyday digital interactions, such as virtual meetings, social media, and personalised avatars. This shift reflects a form of digital dematerialisation, where physical goods are replaced by digital counterparts, challenging conventional understandings of materiality and reality. This study explores the role of matter in digital fashion and examines whether digital fashion reduces the agency of objects and reinforces hierarchical relationships among entities, or whether the absence of physical matter offers new ways of understanding materiality. By critically analysing two digital fashion stores, DRESSX and The Fabricant, through the theoretical frameworks of new materialism, object-oriented ontology and posthumanism, this paper investigates the implications of digital fashion on contemporary cultural practices.
As the global apparel industry navigates increasing sourcing complexity, digital transformation, and evolving tariff structures, apparel firms are under growing pressure to recruit managerial talent capable of coordinating cross-functional operations and global supply chain demands. Against this backdrop, this study investigates employer expectations for managerial roles in Bangladesh's apparel industry, the world's second-largest exporter of ready-made garments. Drawing on Kunz's (1995) Behavioural Theory of Apparel Firms, this study analysed 508 managerial job advertisements using content analysis, point-biserial correlation, and one-way ANOVA. Findings show that professional experience, communication skills, and digital proficiency are consistently prioritised across managerial categories, while technical educational degrees are not significantly associated with broader job responsibilities. Significant differences also emerged across job categories, with finance, marketing, and executive management roles exhibiting greater breadth of responsibilities than merchandising and operations. The study offers implications for recruitment, workforce development, and curriculum alignment in export-oriented and globally integrated apparel industries.
This study examined the structural relationships among self-discrepancy, body satisfaction, and fit satisfaction (both psychological and physical) in male consumers' use of virtual fitting systems (VFS). The study also analysed how these factors influence purchase intention in online apparel shopping. A structural equation model was tested with 108 men in their 20s-30s who had avatar-based fitting experience. Results showed that psychological fit satisfaction significantly predicted physical fit satisfaction (beta = 0.60, P < 0.001), self-discrepancy negatively affected body satisfaction (beta = -0.53, P < 0.001), and body satisfaction positively influenced purchase intention (beta = 0.43, P < 0.001). These findings highlight the role of avatar-based self-perception, cognitive priming, and body schema integration in shaping fit evaluation and purchasing behaviour. The study suggests that VFS platforms can serve not only as fit assessment tools but also as cognitive aids for managing self-image. Implications for personalised avatar design and male-targeted digital commerce strategies are discussed.
The fashion-industrial complex faces urgent environmental and social crises, yet fashion higher education often lacks concrete tools that translate sustainability discourse into advocacy and behaviour change. This study develops and evaluates Fashion Sustainability Advocacy Kits (FSAKs), a politically informed, fashion-specific educational intervention designed for university settings. Conducted in partnership with a southeastern U.S. university and a fashion advocacy organisation, the project integrates tailored educational resources, activism guides, and policy information into fashion curricula to empower students as change agents. Using a parallel mixed-method design, the study assessed students' knowledge and advocacy intentions before and after implementation. Results demonstrate significant increases in understanding environmental and social justice issues, along with strengthened intentions to engage in sustainability initiatives and enhanced capacity to critically evaluate industry practices. FSAKs offer a replicable model for embedding politically informed sustainability advocacy within fashion education and advancing critical engagement in higher education.
Scholars recognise the importance of applied learning in online courses and reinforcement of twenty-first century skills related to learning, literacy, and life. The inquiry-based learning framework (IBL), which provides structure and guidance for student-driven learning, can be used to support online applied learning activities, such as case study development. This study examined students' experience creating case studies as a form of applied learning in an online course using the IBL framework. Students completed a qualitative questionnaire at the end of the project to assess their experience. Analysis resulted in four primary themes: information processing, self-directed inquiry, skill development, and future applications, which align with the three pillars of twenty-first century skills. The results of this study indicate that IBL provides an effective framework for incorporating applied learning in the form of case study development in an online course, which facilitates students' engagement and promotes further development of twenty-first century skills.
The rapid digital transformation in the fashion industry has increased the demand for graduates with industry-relevant digital fashion skills. This study aims to develop a data-driven Digital Fashion Skills Framework for Fashion Education, using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), and cluster analysis. When PCA was applied, it was evident that Digital Design Skills, CAD Skills, and VR Proficiency were the most influential, with the first two components accounting for 30.2% of the total variance. Furthermore, ANN also demonstrated its relevance in predicting digital skills readiness. Then, cluster analysis separated students into three learner profiles (low, medium, and high skill groups), indicating different levels of readiness for the digital fashion workflow. These findings provide evidence that digital fashion skills development is not homogeneous and requires different learning pathways. The proposed framework offers practical guidance for curriculum development, digital learning design, and workforce preparation in contemporary fashion education.
Adopting a Design-Based Research approach, this paper examines how Education for Sustainable Development can be integrated into fashion design higher education in Germany and Iran. It reports on the third iteration of the Sustainable Fashion Design Strategies course at Hochschule Hannover University of Applied Sciences and Arts, involving undergraduate students from Fashion, Product, and 3D Design. The course incorporated lectures, discussions, workshops, and structured reflection, with the USE-LESS Product Lifecycle as the central didactic tool. Data were collected through e-portfolios, a group interview, and structured observations. Findings indicate that experiential and multimodal learning supports conceptual understanding of sustainability, facilitates engagement with sustainable fashion design strategies, and provides indications of shifts towards sustainability as a professional mindset. Iterative refinement enhanced knowledge integration and pedagogical coherence, while highlighting the need for improved scaffolding of complex techniques. The study offers contextually grounded design principles to inform sustainability-oriented fashion design education in comparable settings.
STEM education in Hong Kong aims to equip students with interdisciplinary knowledge and problem-solving skills. However, current implementations primarily restrict engagement to elective subjects such as engineering and programming. This study explores a design-led STEM (D-STEM) approach as an alternative framework, integrating fashion, technology, and creative practices to enhance STEM learning and facilitate the acquisition of core STEM knowledge. Workshops were conducted in nine secondary schools, engaging 477 students. A mixed-methods research design incorporated surveys and interviews to collect both qualitative and quantitative data from students and teachers. The findings indicate that applying interdisciplinary STEM education in real-world contexts enhances student engagement, problem-solving skills, and social awareness, while also shifting teachers' perceptions of STEM's practical applications. These results highlight the potential of design-led approaches to make STEM education more accessible, relevant, and impactful in curriculum development.
