Developing a quantitative relationship towards apparel design transition in China

Abstract

The design of China’s apparel has undergone tremendous changes in the past 70 years. In order to investigate the transition in the design of Chinese apparel over these years, progress with three phases of apparel design in the past 70 years have been described in terms of the silhouette, color, materials, and details of apparel design by employing the expert panel method. Further, a quantitative model of the random forest was proposed to link the transition of apparel design and its determinants, including economy, aesthetics, science and technology, and globalization. The importance weight for each of these determinants had also been determined. In doing so, this study offers insights for apparel designers regarding ways of strategically designing apparel under the transition dynamics in China to follow the mainstream of the transition, and meet consumers’ satisfaction towards apparel design.