Developing Functionality in Geriatric Wear Through Designing

In India, the size of the geriatric population i.e., persons above the age of 60 years is growing rapidly. According to a census study by the government of India in 2013, the population of senior citizens in India is currently the second largest in the world. In the surveys published by the United Nations, the Indian geriatric population is expected to rise, from approximately 198 million in 2020 to approximately 326 million in 2050. As age advances, the body undergoes many changes, most of which are degenerative and the elderly may suffer from one or more chronic diseases. These changes affect the clothing requirement of the elderly and their interest in clothing. A common problem in the majority of elderly people is their negative concept of special clothing. Therefore, unless the clothing is well designed, attractive, and not different in appearance from current styles, the elderly feel that it emphasizes rather than minimizes their poor features. Two upper torso and two lower torso garments for elderly women were designed and developed in order to boost the spirit of independence. Functional clothing was designed in such a way that they have a minimum inhibitory effect on movements and provide maximum comfort and performance to elderly women. These functional clothing items were assessed by the elderly and their caregivers in attributes like the ease of donning and doffing, ease in the manipulation of fasteners, aesthetics, functionality and comfort. These functional clothing items were found highly suitable in terms of all attributes, found user-friendly, and helped elderly women to cope with their physical restrictions and at the same time provide them with beautiful clothing of their own choice.