FOUR QUADRANTS of the FUTURE

Once the axes were determined, each of the four quadrants created by the directional axes were explored, according to each driver and logic while adopting a social practice lens. This exercise aimed to envisage potential future lifestyles with elements that may not exist today but could be imagined as desirable in twenty years. As such, it offers four ideal Utopian futures. There will be no “clear-cut” scenario in which only two forces shape sustainable fashion consumption; a collaboration of forces is arguably more realistic. Sustainable fashion consumption is naturally constituted of diverse practices among diverse groups of clothing users who reflect different needs and desires. The conceptual purpose of this project was to imagine diverse scenarios that highlight the many ways of “doing” sustainability when it comes to fashion consumption. Less detail is provided here about the role and future of the industry while more descriptiveness is devoted to how clothing users may experience the fashion system differently.

Each scenario provides a general context and factors that distinguish it from other scenarios in terms of the infrastructure and materials, skills and competences, as well as attitudes and norms that evolve, from the clothing user’s standpoint. Each vision concludes with some discussion questions that are designed to stimulate creative and innovative thinking around the necessary re-imagining of the fashion system, including industry practice, for a more sustainable future.