Over the past few years, companies have started moving into specific niches in plus-size fashion. The purpose of this study was to verify the marketability of young plus-size clothes in the USA. Data were collected from female consumers aged from 20 to 39 who have experience of purchasing plus-size items. A total of 282 responses were used for statistical analysis. The research result is as follows. First, the obesity stress is affected more by the subjective obesity level than by the objective obesity level and by how people recognize their body types. Second, from an analysis of the factors affecting the shopping orientation of plus-size consumers, style consciousness, pursuing reasonable, emphasizing comfort, and body consciousness are found to be important factors. Third, even if responders are aware of their exact body size, they actively look for the correct size. Fourth, fit evaluation of plus-size products is based on the factors of size fit and movement fit. The respondents were unsatisfied with chest and arm measurements, which deviate widely by body type for tops. Fifth, the overall dissatisfaction with the plus-size market is attributed to the fact that the product assortment range from which to select styles is narrow, and trend reflection is low. Sixth, the respondents tended to avoid fabrics that make their body type more obvious, textures that give the impression of a larger body size, or stiff textures. These results show that the psychological and physical characteristics of obese consumers should be considered to develop products for the young plus-size market.

The purpose of this study was to identify the consumers’ demands on functional design of sports climbing pants. Data were collected through a field survey. 82 male and 70 female amateur sports climbers in Seoul participated. The questionnaires measured aspects of functional design in sports climbing pants, specifically motion adaptability, comfort and aesthetic value of the climbing pants. The results of this study show that comfort during climbing postures was the most important value of the climbing pants. The subjects sought motion adaptability at the hip, crotch, thigh and knee. The preferred style and degree of fit of climbing pants were differed according to gender. Men preferred loose or semi tight fit style climbing pants but women preferred the leggings style of the sport pants. The soft touch seam line and body shaping function were also important for women. The type of pants preferred for sports climbing also differed by the climbing experience period. Men began to wear the outdoor mountaineering style pants when they had experienced sports climbing for 6 months and to wear the climbing expert style pants when they had experienced sports climbing for a year. Most women wore leggings style sports pants from the beginner stage. This study also analyzed Korean market trend in 2016~2017 F/W for sports climbing pants design. The men’s pants were more likely to be designed to improve mobility compared to the women’s pants, even though the aesthetic value of the sports climbing pants was important for women.