Microsoft 2024
Style Without Boundaries
Our project addresses the challenges faced by individuals with disabilities in finding stylish, well-fitting, and affordable clothing options. We conducted thorough secondary research, user interviews, and collaborative design sessions with organizations like Open Style Lab, Tilting the Lens, and Parsons to gain key insights and validate our concept.
We uncovered two core challenges: (i) difficulties in locating suitable clothing due to inadequate product descriptions and inaccessible store layouts/user interfaces, and (ii) limited stylish clothing choices stemming from a lack of detailed body measurements, materials information, and successful use cases by brands. To provide users with greater choice and control over their shopping experience, we’ve created the ‘Personal Stylist’ – a RAG-enhanced GPT that offers personalized clothing and styling recommendations tailored to an individual’s disability needs and fashion preferences. By matching user-provided body measurements and style choices to comprehensive product data from our partner brands we can bridge current challenges in the ecosystem.
The Personal Stylist could be integrated as a plug-in for Microsoft Bing and embedded within the Microsoft Shopping platform. While our initial focus is on manual wheelchair users, our long-term vision is to expand this solution to support a broader range of disabilities and, ultimately, serve the needs of all individuals. By making fashion styling more accessible, we instill confidence, promote self-expression, and empower individuals with disabilities to embrace their unique sense of style.