Samenvatting

Copenhagen-based menswear brand Isnurh decided to collaborate with mental health awareness platform Community of Real People (further called CORP) to produce a non-profit collection, from which two styles should be released during mental health awareness month in May 2023 and sold to raise donations for local charity Joannahuset. In order to do so, the FEA-model following Lamb & Kallal (A Conceptual Framework for Apparel Design, 1992) has been used, consisting of six phases. In the first phase, the problem identification shows that while mental health is one of the most urgent challenges in today 's society, the fashion industry often negatively impacts the mental health of individuals and Isnurh and CORP want to create a collection that promotes mental health awareness and gives physiological and psychological comfort to its wearers. How to do this is explored in phase two, where literature research, target group and expert interviews, combined with trend and material research led to the creation of a FEA model, showcasing the functional, expressive and aesthetic needs for such a collection. These results show that the collection needs to be dominated by the use of breathable and moisture-absorbent natural materials, straight to oversized-fitting clothes and simple silhouettes, combined with more expressive artworks, that are inspired by ten target group interviews. Because the target group did not want to wear any clothes including fonts addressing mental health awareness in a literal way, more abstract artworks have been developed by the researcher after conveying a survey and creating moodboards and sketches in phase three. These artworks should remember of re-connecting to nature, the community and the wearer 's inner child. Additionally, the green ribbon as symbol for mental health awareness is included in each outfit. In phase four, the prototypes are developed into a digital collection, consisting of nine outfits and one physical outfit, consisting of three garments. All designs are made from certified materials or deadstock fabrics, and respond to the functional, expressive and aesthetic needs of the target group. During the 5th chapter, the physical products are evaluated by the target group and the digital collection by Isnurh. All evaluations let the designs pass with grades between 6 and 10. The average evaluation grade of the target group was 8,8 / 10 and of the Isnurh Team 7,8 / 10. After the evaluation, the implementation is done by creating visual content and hosting a pop-up event to sell the physical products and earn money for charity. 26.025 dkk / 3494 Euro are donated to local organization Joannahuset after all. For a continuation of this project, based on the evaluation, the researcher recommends using GOTS certified cotton wherever possible, reduce the artworks of the collection by two, include one more piece of outerwear for the collection, and adjust the length of the t-shirt and the width of the pants. For the communication surrounding the collection, the researcher advises to focus on emotional well-being and self-care, more than addressing medical conditions, and to not glamorize mental health conditions. Instead, a fashion collection inspired by mental health should focus on empowering storytelling and emotional well-being.