For Us By Us: Innovating a 90's Streetwear Brand for Today's Fashion Industry

Abstract

This thesis is a case study of how a vintage fashion brand can be innovated through human centered design for the current fashion industry. IDEO, global design and innovation company, has classified human centered design as a method for identifying viable, feasible and desirable solutions with the integration of multidisciplinary insights (IDEO). For this thesis, the brand of focus is FUBU, for us by us, a 90’s era streetwear brand that is a product of New York City hip-hop culture. A succinct proposal for FUBU’s resurgence in the fashion industry will be designed by first identifying the viability of the fashion industry and feasibility of the brand’s revival. Viability will be determined by detailing the current state of the fashion and streetwear industries. This is to establish the opportunities and threats of new and returning entrants into the industry. Feasibility will be declared by researching the history and current state of the brand, its cultural relevancy, and its strengths and weaknesses. Following the industry and brand analyses, standards for desirable shopping experiences will be created with insights from a competitive analysis of fashion websites, investigation of recent trends in consumer behavior and user experience research. Finally, a proposal to transform FUBU will be visualized. The goal of this thesis is to not only develop a realistic proposal for FUBU, but also to portray how human centered design can be used to rebrand a company.