Visual Code Switching

Challenge

Exploring how people shop across gendered clothing to assemble their ‘unique look’ so that a global athletic-wear brand can innovate and address unmet needs.

A global athletic-wear brand wanted to uncover and prioritize the moments of joy and challenges guests face when shopping across gendered clothing to find outfits they love. Our task was to map guest’s wardrobes by showcasing the garments they use to explore how they affirm their identity when wearing activity-based garments.

Approach

We started by conducting stakeholder interviews to understand the internal perspectives around fit, gender, and how the brand is already addressing guest’s needs.To dive deeper into the concept of ‘code switching’, we took a peek into our target audience’s wardrobes to see how they curate their unique styles and affirm their identity across various social contexts. Armed with a comprehensive understanding of the joys and challenges associated with shopping across gender, we moved into a quantitative phase to help validate key areas from our previous findings. In a collaborative narrative building session, we synthesized our findings to create a strategic narrative to equip our client with a deep understanding of the brand, their guests, and opportunities to drive code switching.

Impact

By identifying areas of opportunity for guests to visually ‘code switch’, our client now has a clear path towards innovation that will meet unaddressed  guest needs. Through this exploration of identity affirmation, our client continues to be at the forefront of wellbeing and inclusion in the apparel sector.