Thermal Comfort Analysis of Moisture Management Treated Cotton Fabrics for Sportwear

Active seniors have not been the priority target market for retailers and apparel companies in the past. Yet, they present an opportunity: the silver population is projected to drive 45%-60% of the consumption growth in major countries in the next 15 years. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop safari jacket designs targeting active senior women. Four research objectives were as follows: (a) identify what items active senior women wear the most as casualwear and the reasons for choice by in-depth interview; (b) conduct a street photography survey in seven locations in Seoul, Korea by taking photos of active senior women wearing safari jackets to verify the results of the first in-depth interview; (c) find the material of the safari jacket to develop the safari jacket design by a second in-depth interview; and (d) derive a total of nine safari jacket designs utilizing the gathered data. With the results of this study, we developed and proposed three different styles of Safari jackets to meet the needs of the senior women in Korean market. More importantly, this study gives an insight to international brands who are trying to penetrate Korean market but previously failed to consider Korean active senior market’s unique characteristics.

Keywords:Active senior; Safari jacket design; Product development