Fashion for Anxiety

Katelyn Haas, a recent graduate from CMU’s Apparel Product Development and Merchandising Technologies program, designed a fashion-forward garment to ease anxiety in the wearer. Haas recognized a lack of discreet tools to help manage anxiety, and thus created four garment prototypes, each of which features different fidget components and aesthetics. Haas emphasizes that while most coping strategies are not meant to replace seeking professional help, they can reduce feelings of panic and stress when better resources are not available. 

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, and these have only been exacerbated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Haas found that those who struggle with mental illness often seek out more affordable alternatives, such as fidgeting, before reaching out to a professional for help. The calming effects of fidgeting, which includes leg bouncing, tapping of one’s foot or fingers, rapid eye blinking, etc. can also be achieved using objects. 

Haas conducted an online survey to analyze consumers’ attitudes and preferences toward different anxiety-relieving products such as fidget spinners and fidget cubes. Based on the feedback from the survey, those sampled would be interested in testing out a fidget garment to help relieve stress. From there, Haas designed four fashion-forward garments that incorporated discreet fidgeting components. Due to strict social distancing guidelines, the prototypes were all designed digitally and presented to survey respondents via WebEx.