Dressform

Design Management

Senior Seminar thesis

Fall 05- Spring 06

The term ‘luxury’ today is manifested not only through luxury brands and tastemakers lifestyles, but also—via premium brands at accessible prices such as secondary designer lines and luxury bags rentals to aspirational consumers. The real appeal of luxury goods however lies in its function as a signifier of exclusivity and the basis on desire rather than need. By taking a closer look at the tastemakers and aspirational consumption, there exists a niche market that had yet to be tapped into—the hunter.

The hunter is an individual who is as concerned with being the trendsetter within her own social circle yet does not necessarily possess the budget for traditional luxury goods. Furthermore, she often eschews mainstream fashion by preferring alternatives like vintage and customization. The act of shopping is seen as a sport to her where the concept of exclusivity becomes dependent not on the ostentatious price of the purchase but its uniqueness and the process of finding it. It is the hunt that becomes the signifier to this persona as evident by the existence of a considerable network of fashion blogs and forums that deal with ‘hunting down great buys’ and sharing tips regarding stores and clothes. Given current leanings towards RFID and changes in fashion manufacturing, technology will only serve to amplify the needs of the hunter in the next 20 years.
DRESSFORM is an online network that will allow the hunter to be productive by exchanging information, resources and ideas among likeminded individuals. Emphasizing a high degree of personalization, DRESSFORM’s main goal is to facilitate the process of selling ideas and creations for ‘3D printing’ (stereo lithography). The concept of ‘commercial DIY’ has been explored by several designers in the 90s such as Issey Miyake with A-POC and Martin Margiela. As how Napster revolutionized the music industry with MP3s and paved the way for Itunes to succeed commercially, DRESSFORM also seeks to create a viable business model for ‘commercial DIY’.

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