Design For X Methodologies

Our current system of production sees a linear model, where we design-create-use-dispose. In a circular model, we ask designers, producers, and users to come together to collaborate and engage in order to extend the life of the product. If we continue to produce at the rate we are now - clothing production doubled in the last 15 years, and in that also consume double - then we are going to be left without resources, and without a landscape that we can subsist from.

The Design for X (Design for Excellence or DFX) methodologies were coined by product designers (white goods, electronics and automotive sectors primarily) where legislative demand necessitated waste minimisation. Taking these strategies into the fashion sector not only reduces the amount of virgin materials we use but also increases our engagement with the product making it a so-called emotionally durable design.

In this Technical Tutorial, we look at what the strategies are, some simple ways of implementing them and case studies for how they already work.