Headshot: Clara Ehorn Devine

Author: Clara Ehorn | Major: Industrial Engineering and Operation Analytics | Semester: Spring 2025

My name is Clara Ehorn Devine and I am studying in the College of Engineering. My mentor is
Rob M. Curry, and we are pursuing research under the department of Industrial Engineering. This
semester, Spring 2025, is my first semester of funded research and I have spent it limiting my scope and
redefining my research topic. This topic stems from a curiosity I’ve developed over time—one rooted in
questions about how digital culture influences consumer behavior, how quickly trends rise and fall, and
what that means for the way we value, produce, and discard clothing.

My research begins with a comprehensive literature review to ground my work. I drew from
sources in consumer behavior, fashion marketing, supply chain logistics, and sustainability studies, as
well as publications in digital media and business analytics. Through this, I established a strong
conceptual framework for understanding of fast fashion. I focused on a different topic every week and
tried to find a minimum of 3 articles for each topic; these topics were:

● Research Already Done (on Social Media and Fast Fashion)
● Fast Fashion Peer Reviewed Articles
● Fast Fashion News Reports (current)
● Social Media Trends
● Social Media and Clothing Sales
● Environmental Trends
○ Water Usage
○ Pollution
○ Textile Waste
● Labor Exploitation
● How to Analyze Time Series Data and methods for correlation tests

I met bi-weekly with my faculty mentor, Dr. Curry, whose guidance helped me refine my research
focus. I also had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Grace from the Walton College of Business, who brings
experience in fast fashion research and provided insightful feedback on my initial direction. Initially, my
thesis was titled “The Role of Social Media in Fueling Fast Fashion: A Time Series Analysis to Forecast
Environmental and Social Consequences.” However, after spending time researching and reviewing
sources under that broad scope, it became clear that the topic was too expensive to meaningfully address
within the constraints of an undergraduate thesis. With input from both Dr. Curry and Dr. Grace, we
collaboratively refined the thesis into a more focused and feasible direction: “Social Media’s Impact on
the Life Cycle of Fast Fashion.” This new scope allows me to explore a more specific relationship
between digital influence and the business life cycles of clothing, while still touching on social and
environmental themes through data analysis and market trends.

Looking ahead, I plan to continue my research through Summer and Fall 2025. This summer, my
primary goals are to identify relevant data sources, such as fashion trend analytics, social media trend
data, and business product cycle reports, as well as continue developing a strong Literature Review.
In Fall 2025, I aim to gain a more in-depth understanding of business life cycles—especially as
they relate to fashion—conduct correlation analyses between social media activity and consumer
behavior, and apply life cycle theory directly to fast fashion products. These efforts will ultimately guide
the analytical portion of my thesis and bring together the theoretical and practical aspects of the project.
I’ll plan to collect data, both from social media platforms and fashion industry sources. My ideas include
analyzing hashtags, mentions, and trend waves over time to see how styles are promoted, how long they
remain “in style,” and how quickly attention shifts. Simultaneously, I’ll work to gather data on fashion
release calendars, production timelines, and even sales figures where available—in order to trace the life
of a product from design to decline. The core of my analysis will involve correlation and time series
modeling, comparing spikes in online activity to spikes in consumer purchases and product turnover. My
aim is to uncover whether there’s a measurable link between what we see online and the environmental or
business realities of clothing.

As the semester progresses, I’ll transition from pure analysis to the writing phase of my thesis.
This will involve not only synthesizing my findings but also crafting a narrative that weaves together
theory, data, and reflection. I want my thesis to be more than just a collection of charts and numbers—I
want it to tell a story about how we, as a digital generation, engage with fashion, and how that behavior
echoes into larger conversations about sustainability, ethics, and identity.

In addition to writing, I’ll spend the fall semester revising, meeting with my thesis advisor and
mentors for feedback, and preparing my materials for the oral defense of my thesis, which is scheduled
for December 2025. This defense will give me the chance to present my work in front of a committee of
faculty members, answer questions about my methodology and findings, and reflect on the broader
implications of my research.

By the end of the Fall semester, I plan to complete the writing of my full thesis and prepare to
defend it in December 2025. I’m excited to see how the research evolves and to contribute to ongoing
conversations about the digital influence on fashion, consumer culture, and sustainability.

My research explores how social media accelerates the life cycle of fast fashion, shaping what
consumers buy, wear, and quickly discard. By analyzing trends and digital engagement, I aim to reveal the
deeper connection between online influence and unsustainable consumption. Beyond data, my hope is to
encourage more mindful decision-making—urging consumers to pause and consider the impact of their
purchases. Ultimately, this research is about fostering awareness and inspiring a shift toward more
thoughtful, intentional habits in a fast-paced digital world.

I chose my topic out of my interest towards Human Trafficking prevention and awareness. In
highschool, I was made aware of a challenge called “Dressember” which is a 31-day challenge to wear a
dress every day of December, with the hopes that someone will ask about why you would wear a dress in
such cold weather? This would open the door to the conversation of sharing the mission of Dressember
and hopefully raise financial support to donate to Dressember to help survivors of trafficking with
resources or helping them get on their feet. I knew a lot of human trafficking is a result of sex and labor
exploitation, and at the same time, a popular brand SHEIN was trending. SHEIN was known for its trendy
and affordable clothes, by affordable, I mean very cheaply produced and made. SHEIN was exposed for
their fast fashion and child-labor exploitation, which affected their goodwill and made people more aware
of sustainable options. This topic really interested me, so I tried to develop my knowledge of Industrial
Engineering and see if I could find ways to apply it to make consumers more aware and educated to
brands that could be potential fast-fashion brands. I learned a lot in my experience of doing research and
fueled my fire to fight labor trafficking