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Case study · UX Research · Adaptive fashion
DODICI
the virtual tailor
An app that helps wheelchair users adapt their own clothes: ready-adapted garments, tools, tutorials and, when needed, a tailor near home.
Open the Figma prototype (opens in a new tab)
The brief
Fashion for inclusion: fashion as a space for everyone
The brief asked for a fashion concept that supported inclusion, diversity and belonging. We chose to work on people who get dressed while sitting: for many people with motor disabilities, zips, buttons and standard cuts make it hard to dress on their own.
Italy, 20213.0 million
people with severe limitations in their usual activities.
Italy, 20219.8 million
with non-severe limitations. Together they are about one person in five.
Severe limitations59%
are women: 1.78 million against 1.23 million men.
Source: ISTAT, Disabilità in cifre, table a.1 (2018 and 2021). Calculation based on absolute values by sex.
Adaptive fashion
It started as DIY: adapting ordinary clothes to the needs of the people who wear them. Over time it became “design for all”. The point is not only zips and magnetic buttons, but the right to comfortable clothes that also have an identity.
Inspired by the article by Elisa Fulco in Lampoon, 2023.
From the brainstorming
“Someone who can make you clothes from scratch, made to measure.”
The ideas included body scanning, physical measuring points, a tailoring school and a community of users, tailors and companies. This note gave life to the figure of the tailor.
The research · my contribution
Before designing, trying to get dressed while sitting
I worked on the research phase: understanding the problem from the inside, with the body before the data, and turning it into a clear design question.
We used several techniques in parallel. Bodystorming made us try to put on trousers and sweatshirts without getting up from the floor. Involving an extreme user, a young man in a wheelchair, gave every choice real feedback.
BodystormingExtreme userShadowingPoint of viewUser and desk researchInspiring storiesInterviews
Defining the problem · 5 whys
Getting down to the root
We started from the goal and asked “why?” five times. At the bottom there was no technical problem, but a lack of research and data on this audience.
- START
Help people with permanent, temporary or situational motor disabilities to dress on their own.
- 01
Why are some clothes not easy to put on independently?
Because they have elements, such as zips and buttons, that make them hard to put on.
- 02
Why do companies make these garments?
Because standard production does not consider the needs of people with motor difficulties.
- 03
Why are these people not considered?
Because standard production reduces costs and companies do not see that part of the market as profitable.
- 04
Why do they not consider it profitable?
Because they do not see custom cuts as a source of income. The only customisation available today is aesthetic.
- 05
Why do they not invest in customisation?
Because they do not do enough research to have the data needed for functional customisation designed for this target group.
How might we · first version
- How might we make people with motor disabilities more independent when getting dressed?
- How might we help carers dress them in a simpler and more efficient way?
- How might we personalise clothes shopping for this audience?
How might we · the final question
How might we customise everyday clothes to make them more comfortable for wheelchair users?
Prototyping
From paper to needle
After an interview with the extreme user, we sketched the first solutions on paper and digitally. Then we bought the materials and modified real garments.
Testing with the extreme user
The solutions tried on his own clothes
We went back to our first extreme user and asked him to try the solutions on his own clothes, in his home and on his wheelchair.
What he told us
“It’s nice to think that someone is thinking about it.”Marco Ostilio La Croix, extreme user
The solution
A tailor in your pocket
DODICI brings together three paths: buy a ready-adapted garment, adapt it yourself with tools and tutorials, or take it to a nearby tailor. The Virtual Tailor helps you choose the right one.
- AskVirtual TailorThe chat asks what you need: a tutorial, a garment, some tools or something else.
- Do it yourselfTutorials and toolsA video shows how to modify the chosen garment, by category.
- Hand it overTailors near youIf you cannot do it on your own, the map finds the nearest tailor with contacts and directions.
Ready-adapted garments
Each product comes from the tested prototypes, like the Glovesuper glove, with reviews from the people who use them.
One question, four answers
Large buttons and ready-made answers, to ask for help without having to type.
Learn to modify it
Step-by-step videos for each type of garment. Below, an exit that is always visible: “Can’t do it on your own? Click here”.
The local tailor
Map of workshops with distance, rating and three actions: email, directions and phone.
Checkout in a few taps
Size and colour shown clearly, removal with an X, payment methods as large buttons.
Identity
Why DODICI
- The name
- “Dodici” is Italian for “twelve”. The idea came on 12/12 at 12:12.
- The logo
- The needle and button recall the customisation of garments and the figure of the tailor. The button is a planet and the thread is its orbit: an idea of universality.
- The colours
- Soft, relaxing tones, to make people feel at ease while they browse.
- The message
- Someone has started to think about you too, and there is a space where you can express yourself without giving up your identity.
Outcomes
What we learnt, and what comes next
Difficulties we faced
- Defining the problem in a concrete way was not immediate.
- Finding people in the target group was difficult, and time was short.
- With few users involved, there are few prototypes and they are designed mainly for a male body.
- It was our first contact with the world of tailoring.
Next steps
- Involve more people to cover more needs and more bodies.
- A community that brings users and tailors together, and professional courses to revive the craft tailor.
- A line of garments in recycled, durable fabrics, designed for this audience.
- A section where users modify our designs or create new ones with a guided form.
- A physical shop, as well as the app.
For the team, it was the first real encounter with the world of disability. Without budget constraints, we could put people’s real needs at the centre, and we discovered how few do so.