1. Good design is innovative

The possibilities for innovation are not, by any means, exhausted. Technological development is always offering new opportunities for innovative design. But innovative design always develops in tandem with innovative technology, and can never be an end in itself.

Technological innovation

We have mostly “figured out” how to make technologically satisfying clothing. Most people have access to cheap, durable clothing that keeps them warm and covered. Yet it is true we can still continue to innovate on the functionality of our clothing by making them lighter, thinner, more insulating, more cooling, and so on.

Acronym, techwear plays upon the theme of deeply optimizing the functionality of clothing

Sustainability

Another area in which we can technologically innovate is the sustainability of clothing. The fashion industry has advanced to the point where consumers have access to a plethora of affordable clothing through e-commerce and economies of scale. The accessibility of attractive clothing has led to an increasingly negative environmental impact from fashion consumption. We should strive for innovation in reducing the environmental impact of clothing. Consumers can buy higher quality, buy less, donate rather than throw away old clothes. Producers can use more environmentally friendly materials, recycled materials, and use less wasteful and more environmentally friendly production techniques to reduce their environmental impact.

Ultraboost Parley, made using ocean plastic

Stylistic innovation

It is human nature to take opportunities to express yourself, so people will always take opportunities to innovate stylistically and dress themselves in different ways that set themselves apart.

There are infinite stylistic possibilities for individual garments because each garment is the result of applying different processes to different materials in different orders. Given the infinite creative potential for individual garments, there are trivially infinite combinations (outfits) of garments to wear.

Continuous stylistic innovation or “trends” have been a perpetuity in human society and will continue to be because of peoples natural need for self expression.

2. Good design makes a product useful

A product is bought to be used. It has to satisfy certain criteria, not only functional, but also psychological and aesthetic. Good design emphasizes the usefulness of a product whilst disregarding anything that could possibly detract from it.

Clothes are useful because they keep us covered (functional), make us feel good (psychological), and make us look good (aesthetic).

Functional

We wear clothes that can at least keep us covered. There are few contexts in which garments can compensate for lack of functionality with stylistic merit. Only in runway fashion, for example, can a designer make such extreme stylistic statements without being penalized for impracticality.

Jacquemus, extreme stylistic merit at the expense of functionality

Psychological

We wear clothes that make us feel good. We support brands that align with our stylistic and worldly values. We wear clothes from brands that share our values just like we associate with people who share our values.

Aesthetic

Lastly, we wear clothes that align with our aesthetic beliefs. Aesthetically pleasing clothing is useful because it allows us to convey our thoughts and beliefs via our clothing.

The total utility of clothes is the sum of these three forms. Different garments make different tradeoffs between these forms of utility. Some garments may sacrifice functionality for aesthetic beauty, some may sacrifice aesthetics for extreme functionality. Consider a piece of clothing’s place on this three-dimensional spectrum when you consider a piece of clothing.

3. Good design is aesthetic

The aesthetic quality of a product is integral to its usefulness because products we use every day affect our person and our well-being. But only well-executed objects can be beautiful.

The most important of the 10 principles.

To dress well is the opposite of self centered, you are not only respecting yourself but all others who inhabit your surroundings.

Our physical presence affects those around us. We care about people we interact with, so just as we groom ourselves to make our presence at least inoffensive, we strive to dress ourselves so that our presence brings joy to the people we interact with. We seek to be interesting to others and we can partially accomplish that through the clothes we wear. We want our clothing and our presence to catalyze thought and creativity in others.

We invest energy into the way we dress because it is one way we translate our inner being to our physical wordly presence.

4. Good design makes a product understandable

It clarifies the product’s structure. Better still, it can make the product talk. At best, it is self-explanatory.

Because we communicate through clothing, we want to make our clothing understandable.

A well-executed piece of clothing or outfit should be understandable, it shouldn’t try to mix too many different stylistic inspirations or risk diluting the sartorial value of the clothing.

Individual pieces of clothing should be thematically consistent to other works by the same designer or under the same product line, the pieces which compose an outfit should be thematically consistent.

Clothing is a silent way of communicating to the world and we want to communicate our beliefs and intentions clearly.

5. Good design is unobtrusive

Products fulfilling a purpose are like tools. They are neither decorative objects nor works of art. Their design should therefore be both neutral and restrained, to leave room for the user’s self-expression.

Uniqlo U, simple and easily mixed and matched styling

A piece of clothing trivially has to be unobtrusive to be functional.

We do not want to just decorate our body with our clothes, we want to wear the clothes rather than let the clothes wear us.

We do not want our clothes to speak for us, rather we want to speak to the world through our clothes.

6. Good design is honest

It does not make a product more innovative, powerful or valuable than it really is. It does not attempt to manipulate the consumer with promises that cannot be kept.

Style is a statement to the world around you, so dressing dishonestly is lying to the world about who you are.

When we dress ourselves, we are honest to ourselves. We wear clothes and brands that align with our values and beliefs. For example, we tend to not wear counterfeits and try to pass them off as authentic because it is dishonest. In general we tend to wear clothes that demonstrate values that in line with our own values.

7. Good design is long-lasting

It avoids being fashionable and therefore never appears antiquated. Unlike fashionable design, it lasts many years — even in today’s throwaway society.

Despite fashion being inherently trend based, there are ways to view the evolution of any trend based “art” through this principle.

White T shirt

Just because a design (a garment or some style) goes out of date or appears antiquated does not make it irrelevant. Current trends are only in style because they are the consequence of all previous trends, current trends would be meaningless if considered in a vacuum separate from previous trends.

While even the most influential and “timeless” designs eventually go out of date, those designs live on in the creative canon and are forever considered by the future work of designers. Designers in all fields perpetually study archives for inspiration, despite past designs being “antiquated”. Subsequent differing takes on outdated designs endlessly revive the same underlying themes.

8. Good design is thorough down to the last detail

Nothing must be arbitrary or left to chance. Care and accuracy in the design process show respect towards the user.

Virgil Abloh, LV ⁣**𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑠 “𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑠” instagram.com/p/BuTKXB4hRob

Details bring garments or entire outfits together.

Details can increase the utilitarian value of a garment (increased durability, perfect fit, etc).

Details can also increase the immaterial value of the garment or outfit, by demonstrating thematic consistency and aesthetic values, things ultimately savored by the wearer of the garment or outfit.

Just like it feels good to find a garment that physically fits perfectly, it feels good to find a piece of clothing that fits perfectly into your sense of style. Details are a way for the designer and wearer of clothing to share their finest and most nuanced stylistic beliefs.

Only a few people may notice the finest details, potentially only the wearer themself, but these fine details are greatly appreciated by those who have the ability to notice them.

The fine details on a piece of clothing are the result of the forethought and energy invested in designing and executing it. To be able to understand and enjoy those details is the wearer’s reward for having developed their sense of style and taste.

9. Good design is environmentally-friendly

Design makes an important contribution to the preservation of the environment. It conserves resources and minimizes physical and visual pollution throughout the lifecycle of the product.

Well designed garments are not designed to be worn and disposed of.

Clothes become a part of a person’s identity, and what sense of connection would you have with disposable clothing that is only worn a few times and discarded?

Well designed garments are high quality, long lasting, repairable, and at the end of their long lifespans, donatable, repurposable or recyclable.

By choosing to consume only high-quality clothing or secondhand clothing, we can benefit our world and our wardrobe in both stylistic and environmental ways.

10. Good design is as little design as possible

Less, but better — because it concentrates on the essential aspects, and the products are not burdened with non-essentials. Back to purity, back to simplicity.

Common Projects, an icon of minimalist style

We should use the most core aspects of your aesthetic beliefs to help guide your stylistic decisions.

Style does not necessarily have to be minimalist, but we can still think about minimalism when it comes to achieving a certain desired effect with the clothing you wear. When we choose the clothes we wear, we should try and communicate our thoughts as efficiently as possible.

As we get better at dressing ourselves, we should strive to be able to achieve greater sartorial impact using a smaller wardrobe.