Apparel Design and Development of Clothing for LGBT Consumers Made from “TAI LUE” Fabric, Pua District, Nan Province

Abstract

The LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) segment is a high potential niche market, for which currently there is a lack of recognition and very few studies on this group. Consequently, there were three main objectives of this research: 1.to study the apparel consumption behavior and apparel product requirements of LGBT consumers, 2. to design and develop clothing for LGBT consumers made from Tai Lue cloth based on the Hmong tradition from Nan province, and 3. to study the LGBT consumers’ satisfaction and product acceptance

of the developed clothing made from Tai Lue fabric. A multi-stage random sampling technique was employed. Data were collected from 220 LGBT persons through an online questionnaire and were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, chi-square test, and multiple regression.The results could be divided into three parts as follows: 1.The majority of respondents preferred the pants and the jacket in black, gray, and white colors, decorated with red and white Tai Lue patterns; 2.The collection was developed by considering the endogenous fashion in this segment and spring–summer 2021 trends. Eight of the twelve designs were selected by three experts who have at least 5 years of design experience; 3. The second design scored the highest satisfaction level (= 4.80, S.D. = 0.13), which indicated that it was most suitable for taking for further digital prototype development with a 3D patterning program. Four of the five surveyed respondents indicated a definite purchase intention when considering the product aesthetic presentation. The appropriate available price was 1,101–1,500 baht. Various product properties had an effect on the purchase intent (p < 0.05), such as the design style and the daily life usage.