The Sixth Sense Garment: A State-of-the-Art Framework for Sustainable Neurofashion

Fashion's next frontier lies at the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI), human–computer interaction, and planetary boundaries. Current AI deployments in fashion largely emphasize upstream optimization (forecasting, recommendations, inventory) while leaving the use phase, where garments are worn, cared for, and too often prematurely discarded, comparatively underexplored. This paper presents a state-of-the-art framework for the "Sixth Sense Garment," an autonomous apparel system that senses biometric and environmental signals and dynamically adapts appearance and tactility to support wearer regulation (e.g., stress reduction) while extending product lifetimes via aesthetics-on-demand and care-by-design. Grounded in affective computing (Picard, 1997), neuroaesthetics (Chatterjee & Vartanian, 2016), and circular economy theory (Geissdoerfer et al., 2017), the framework integrates edge-AI privacy, modular construction, and Digital Product Passport (DPP) alignment under the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). Through multiple case exemplars—Anouk Wipprecht’s Spider and Meteor Dresses, Iris van Herpen’s 3D-printed couture, and Hussein Chalayan’s transforming garments—the paper traces a trajectory from reactive spectacle to intimate autonomy and circularity. A mixed-methods research agenda is proposed, including research-through-design prototyping, in-the-wild experiments, and longitudinal behavioral metrics (wear time, repair events, purchase delay). This paper posits that the Sixth Sense Garment constitutes a credible, integrative pathway toward sustainable neurofashion,closing the loop between biometrics, in-vivo design decisions, and circular value realization.