The research project presented in this article investigated the role of the garment as an instigator of change through a series of practice-based experiments. Twenty-five knit garments, which had been discarded due to their being unsellable post-consumer waste materials, were collected and used to explore the potential of past design decisions The group of garments was considered to be a single design material to work with and reflect upon. A data analysis was conducted on the material with regard to fibre composition, colour, production country, structure, and shapes, before a series of experiments was conducted. Rather than being used to create a permanent artefact or a fixed form, the garments remained loose, plastic pieces throughout the research process, in order to be redefined through new actions to lead to the generation of new artefacts. Each experiment in the series ‘Expressions of Discarded Design Decisions’ was documented and numbered before the next was undertaken. Past design decisions, made during the production of garments, present a set of design variables and properties that can be used as a foundation for defining future design decisions. The design examples created as part of this experiment series raise questions, generate knowledge, and stimulate new thoughts in relation to the changing role of the designer and the process of searching for and adapting to new areas. The reflective framework suggested in this article posits the garment as an instigator of change, and has the potential to catalyse new ideas and methods for design practice and pedagogy.  

The result is a shift in perspective from the notion of ‘discarded garments’ to that of ‘discarded design decisions´. This points to the responsibility of the designer and opens up for new possibilities regarding rethinking habitual modes and procedures for new visions, ideas, theories, and practices.