In the clothing sector, approaches to design for longevity can provide the "…single largest opportunity to reduce the carbon, water and waste footprints of the clothing in the UK" (WRAP, 2013a). Although an emphasis lies on slowing consumption, the types of design-led approaches that can be used to achieve this goal are considerably varied yet sparingly used by the mainstream fashion industry. In light of the growth of a circular economy, the challenge facing the fashion industry is to adapt the existing product design and development model and explore a fashion system where other, more diverse design approaches can prosper. Thus, this paper attempts to contribute to this debate and further highlight factors that need to be considered by fashion companies when developing garments designed for longevity.

Through a range of novel design principles/methods, underpinning modularity and incremental garment design/construction in this paper we demonstrate how designers may begin to envisage garments as items designed for longevity. The experimental work carried out here is part of a larger initiative, Re:Textile in Sweden (Retextile, 2017). In the experiments conducted we demonstrate the power of various garment design conditions intended to synthesize a change towards garment longevity. Together with highlights of the key processes and basic design principles underpinning these design-led approaches, the experimental work also specifies how and where they contribute in achieving the aims of designing in a circular economy. The findings also highlight the opportunities for improving the redesignability of the garment in its active use life as set by the original design conditions laid in light of design for longevity.