The purpose of the study was to develop clothing that enhances comfort for children using gastrostomy tubes while maintaining a design that is no different from that of non-disabled children. The discomfort experienced by children with gastrostomy tubes wearing regular daily clothing was investigated through medical papers and blogs of their parents. The designs were then created to address the issues. The results were as follows: Because the location of the gastrostomy tube is in the upper body, four types of clothing items were developed: one sweatshirt for boys, two one-piece dresses for girls, and one windbreaker suitable for both boys and girls. Considering practicality for children’s clothing, cotton fabric was prioritized. For sweatshirts and windbreakers, a patched pocket with a dog pattern was placed over the area containing the gastrostomy tube to hide it. Frills were used to conceal the gastrostomy tube in one-piece dresses and designed to allow easy access for eating or disinfecting the area. This study aimed to address the challenges children with gastrostomy tubes face when wearing the regular daily clothes of non-disabled children while also offering aesthetically pleasing designs that enhance convenience for those using gastrostomy tubes. We believe this study will not only raise public awareness of disabilities but also inspire research on future clothing for both children and adults using gastrostomy tubes.
Sportswear transforms itself into a new fashion item to satisfy desires for beauty in addition to having functionality and movability for sports activities. Sportswear is not in fashion just temporarily but comes in various forms along with sociocultural phenomenon that put emphasis on well-being and leisure. This research aims to study the needs of the bikers who ride bicycles or cycles has become a popular outdoor activity, and give suggestions for high functional sports design that can satisfy the needs of the highly demanding taste of athletes. To understand the design development direction and design preference, practical consumer needs were derived through a survey analysis on bike wear purchasing satisfaction and actual wearing state by bike riders. For consumer needs analysis, focus group interview, in-depth interview and questionnaire method were used. Based on analysis of those researches, athleisure bike wears appropriate for urban sports activities were categorized into sports, life, fitness and leisure 4 styles for athleisure bike wear design development. It is believed that this study will contribute to in the category expansion of sports wear market and satisfy the consumer demands for functional and specialized casual bike wears as well as fashion factors optimized to life style of modern people.