The Effectiveness of Designing Transformable Clothing Inspired by Arabic Calligraphy to Promote Sustainability in Fashion

Achieving sustainable development is a goal sought by the modern era in all fields. Therefore, environmental conservation has become an urgent necessity. The term sustainable development has emerged with the increased awareness and interest in societal and environmental issues. This research aimed to develop innovative designs for transformable men's clothing (for young men) inspired by the aesthetics of Arabic calligraphy, with the aim of promoting sustainability concepts in the fashion industry. The research addressed how to integrate Arabic calligraphy art with modern design methods to produce versatile clothing pieces that vary in shape and appearance, reducing clothing consumption and diversifying usage. Arabic calligraphy was analyzed for its visual and symbolic characteristics to be employed in contemporary men's clothing designs (for young men). Transformational techniques such as detachable and reassembled parts and geometric cuts were used to provide wearable clothing in various ways. An analytical and experimental design approach was adopted, where a set of prototypes were developed and tested on a sample of university students to obtain evaluations related to functional and aesthetic aspects. The results indicated that the use of Arabic calligraphy added a cultural dimension and a distinct visual identity, while the transformational feature contributed to meeting the requirements of environmental and economic sustainability.