Consider the daily dilemmas in choosing your outfit; what does it communicate to the outside world? Do you look and feel good? How do others read me? Do you feel fashionable? Smart, stylish? Are you dressed for the right occasion? Reflect on all the many considerations that take place as you navigate multiple dress codes, social agenda’s and predict what role your clothes need to fulfil on a daily basis. Now think about how this complexity is increased if the wearer is partially sighted, or blind. How can they navigate getting dressed when they, like many of us, don’t have a clear overview of what is in their wardrobes? Furthermore, they may have never seen how the garments look on them.

What would help this group of young people, who have the same wants and desires as you, to build outfits for different occasions and be confident in their choices. Could you help map their wardrobes? Create a tool or method? Develop a way to view colours or patterns without sight? Understand silhouettes that flatter their body type? How to tap into style trends without directly seeing what other people are wearing on the street?

As fashion and textile designers, you are attuned to observing many of these components and combining them to construct outfits. How can you share these skills, empowering people who are sight-impaired to build autonomy in their wardrobes, allowing the wearer to make independent style choices of their own? These are just initial speculations, by having conversations with your stakeholders you will find out what they really need and want, understanding what would help them look good and feel great, so that they are not dressing in the dark.