Most interviewees pointed out that the fit flops design direction for mass market had moved towards the area of physical monitoring, sportswear and personal healthcare. This change not only helps expand the market to the new target groups, children and the elderly, but also focuses the design approach. Moreover, these new areas were more innovative and experimental which matched the nature of Smart Clothing.  All participants agreed that social acceptance was an important factor. Although Smart Clothes need not be fashionable, they should perform all the basic functions that ordinary garments do. Some interviewees stressed that the electronic function should be discrete and invisible. Further, it should be a wearable item rather than clothes, as it is easier for the users to accept. Most experts expressed that changing the user?s perception was the biggest challenge. Smart Clothes should have a simple design. This way, the products have a long lifecycle regardless of any changes in fashion trends.   Many respondents commented that ?customisation? or ?personalisation? was probably an appropriate way to overcome the conflict between long development time and fast changing fashion. Since it allowed the user to fitflop luna choose the styles and functions, this could reconcile the differences between the way people perceive, purchase and use electronic device and clothes. Besides, the product should have mechanisms to restyle or upgrade itself. Thereby, allowing the user to keep the product for longer. This idea is feasible, as the ?micro-encapsulation? technology allows millions of microcapsules to be built into clothing. In this way, the pattern and colour of the clothes can be changed, and the camouflage can adapt to the surroundings dynamically (Cummings, 2004).  There must be a practical reason why particular technologies were embedded in garments and why the product needed to be worn on the body. Noticeably, most respondents were interested in sports and healthcare applications. Some agreed that  

the technologies should be invisible and only work when it is needed without user?s conscious thought. However, the control must not fitflop walkstar 3 be overtaken by the technology.   To overcome washing problems, many people suggested that electronic component should be a separate item that could be attached and detached from the clothes easily. As a result, it should be considered an accessory of the clothes, such as a button or a badge. Being ?accessories? allows electronic functions to be attached into every garment. While the clothes could be changed due to the user?s preference and fashion trends, the button could remain the same. However, the electronic function must be complete in itself, as it is impossible to have a ?supported system? embedded in every garment. This idea supports the modular concept explained by the electronic engineer, as the functionality is broken down into small modules, which can be connected and assembled with each other, and fitflop pietra used according to the user requirements.

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Focus group with mixed disciplines  The term ?Smart? was redefined. For them, ?Smart? applications should be able to relate, communicate or connect with other fit flops artefacts in order to provide the user a full control of the environment. For example, a ?Smart? jacket should be able to connect to the intelligent system in the house. In this way, room temperature, lighting and so on could be operated through the Smart Clothes. There was no point to put existing electronic functions into the clothes. The application must have a good reason why it had to be worn, e.g. control body temperature, detect health problems, etc. Communication field had a potential if the technology was cheap enough to be embedded into every garment. Furthermore, the gadgets had an opportunity if the functions and features were new or radical, and not repeated of the existing ones, such as an MP3 player. Smart Clothes needed to overcome the conflict between long development time and fast pace of fashion. One way was personalisation. Another way was that the product had a mechanism to change its -  

Discipline  Smart Clothing?s Design rebel singapore Directions  appearance or it could be upgraded. For instance, the mechanism allowed the user to change colours, printing patterns or styles of the garment according to fashion trends.  
These results highlight that several interviewees and focus group respondents correctly surmised what the popular applications and subsequent needs would be. For example, many of them stated that sportswear and medical applications would be an appropriate direction for the mass market in the future. These suggestions match the user profile and their visions of future lifestyle. Although some implementations suggested by these three groups are different, all disciplines had concerns about commercialisation and current technological achievement. The electronic features should not be limited to only technical function. They should also provide emotional value fitflop walkstar 3 to the user. Most respondents stressed that electronic functions should be separated from the garment due to the benefits in terms of product lifecycle, customisation and disassembly. Nonetheless, this direction can be changed when all electronics are made of fabric and do not cause environmental problems.   
To conclude, the new design directions based on the interviews and focus groups are: 1. Many participants suggested that Smart Clothing applications should take the design approach of Functional Clothing because its nature is similar to that of Smart Clothing?s. For instance, Functional Clothing has a long lifecycle. Long lifecycle is crucial for Smart Clothing applications, as technologies take a long time to develop and test. In this case, Functional Clothing is a garment designed to serve specific purposes, e.g. garments for extreme conditions and military uniforms. Moreover, the excessive cost of developing and manufacturing fitflop pietra intelligent textiles makes them far too expensive to be used in the mainstream fashion products (Gould, 2003).

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Focus group with five product designers Due to their user-centre approach, the group preferred practical applications, such as those for the military, monitoring and medical fit flops because these products had a potential market and fit the current trend, i.e., a healthy and well-being lifestyle. Since product designers are always concerned about business benefits, some respondents were interested in the ideas that could be achieved with today?s technologies, e.g. child monitoring applications. The group challenged the word ?Smart? and later agreed that it meant technology was invisible and function was provided only when it was needed without the user?s conscious thought, which was similar to the Smart Clothing developers? idea. However, the user must control the technology. Moreover, social acceptance and user lifestyle must be addressed. Many respondents expressed their concerns about environmental issues, as new legislation requiring the producers to take back all their electronic components at the end of the -  
Discipline  Smart Clothing?s Design Directions Focus group with five product designers products? life. However, integrating electronics into clothing makes disassembly difficult and costly. Until every part was made of fabric, electronic components must not be permanently fixed within the rebel singapore clothes. In this way, electronic functions could be customised. Customisation could ensure that the products are useful for the user and could be used for longer. They believed that the clothes would be adopted by the military and law enforcers long before it would become a commodity product for the general consumers. Focus group with five fashion designers Since marketing was important for the fashion system, many respondents suggested that Smart Clothes needed to be more commercial.  As a result, its design direction must be reconsidered. They believed that the poor acceptance from the consumers was caused by the lack of fashionable appearance. Because the final outcome is an apparel product, Smart Clothes must be designed with fashion consideration. This meant that the product must match user requirements functionally and emotionally. Many of them agreed that technology could add values to the fitflop walkstar 3 clothes, but it was not the main reason that made people want the garment. The group stressed that emotional values, such as providing a pleasurable feeling, were more crucial for apparel products. Technology must be simplified. If technology was not invisible, it should have an attractive appearance and become ?accessories? of the clothes, such as a button or zip. In this way, electronic function could be added or removed easily due to the user?s functional and emotional requirement. Being accessories allows electronic functions to be used for longer, as the style of the clothes can be changed due to fashion trends whilst basic parts, like a button or zip, can remain the same. However, the electronic function must be complete in itself, as it is impossible to have a ?supported system? embedded in every garment. In their opinion, an appropriate function was physical monitoring for sport practitioners. However, the product could be sold purely by its fitflop frou aesthetics. For example, decorating with lighting.

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