Reshaping fashion towards inclusion and social responsibility

Abstract

Sustainability in the fashion industry has predominantly been addressed through environmental and circular economy perspectives, often overlooking its social dimension. This paper argues that social sustainability must be recognised as a core component of sustainable fashion. Mainstream fashion continues to reproduce normative body standards and marginalise people with disabilities, while only a limited number of specialised enterprises challenge these paradigms. Adopting a mixed-method qualitative approach, this study investigates the relationship between fashion and inclusion across three interconnected levels: the scientific debate, public perception, and market practices. The research combines a scoping literature review, a digital ethnography, and a desk-based analysis of fashion case studies. By integrating these data sources, the paper critically examines prevailing models of disability, design approaches, product features, and representational strategies within the fashion system. The findings reveal a dominance of function-driven, medicalised design approaches that prioritise performance and discretion at the expense of aesthetic expression. In contrast, emerging inclusive fashion practices reframe clothing as expressive artefacts challenging conventional assumptions about the “standard” body and expanding aesthetic norms. The paper contributes to design research by articulating fashion as a socio-cultural system of artefacts, values, and representations, emphasising the need to move beyond adaptive solutions towards systemic inclusion.