Applications of quality function deployment to apparel design in Taiwan

Purpose – The objective of the research is to characterize various key factors affecting apparel design and product quality. Design/methodology/approach – In the fulfillment of the objective, the Delphi method and a survey questionnaire were used to collect related materials. This was followed by descriptive statistics, reliability, and factor analysis in order to set up the “house of quality” using the method of quality function deployment. Findings – The factors that were found to affect the quality of apparel design were fashion sensitivity, ability of material application, colour sensitivity, fashion trend, fashion market positioning, and management. Fashion style, cloth quality, cutting quality, discount, and personal favourites were the key factors affecting consumers when choosing apparel. Keen observation ability, marketing analysis, and market development were very important for designing and producing high value‐added products. Research limitations/implications – The survey was conducted in Taiwan, which perhaps limits the usefulness of the findings elsewhere. Practical implications – The article may assist apparel designers to understand the requirements of consumers of fashion products. Originality/value – Apparel design rules have been formulated in Taiwan using the method of quality function development to assist apparel designers to improve design quality and production performance.