Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Bolgebaum here with a classic from the podcast archives. We touch on the fashion industry occasionally on this show. After all, it touches on art, material science, history, and lots more of the subjects that we cover, but today's classic focuses in on a specific issue, the representation, or the lack thereof, of the interests of people with
disabilities within the industry. Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Vogebam Here, The fashion industry has some catching up to do when it comes to considering people with disabilities. That's according to the results of a recent study which surveyed thirteen people with mobility impairments. The findings showed that about half of the respondents were unable to attend events like weddings, school dances, and job interviews, or even to work out because they
couldn't find appropriate clothing. Alison Cable, lead study author and assistant professor of Health side in the University of Missouri's School of Health Professions, set in a press release, the clothing industry continues to exclusively cater to able bodied individuals, despite the fact that people with disabilities often miss out
on important life events due to clothing related problems. The study authors call on the fashion industry to take the millions of Americans living with disabilities into consideration when creating clothes. They wrote, the design fields and apparel industry could play a vital role in helping people with mobility disabilities navigate these barriers. Some fashion designers have already heated the call.
Stephanie Alvez is the founder, CEO, and designer of a b L Denim, which provides quality denom genes for people with limited dexterity and mobility or with sensory processing issues like autism. She made the leap into the world of adaptive fashion after her step sister became a wheelchair user eight years ago. Elvis explains she wasn't getting dressed much. She looked on the web and all she could find was geriatric clothing. So I started a Janes line because
or one said jeans were what they wanted most. Elves modifies designs to meet the various needs of people with disabilities. She said. Someone who sits in a wheelchair all day can be prone to pressure sores. Seems can push and hurt, and pressure sores can land you in the hospital for three months, so she strategically places seems to prevent pressure sores, and offers pants that are cut higher in the back to prevent them from slipping too low, a common complaint
of wheelchair users. She offers one style with a zipper from the waist to the hips, so the whole front of the pants can come down. That makes it easier for people with catheters, feeding tubes, or clostby bags to use. Best of all, anyone can wear her designs, which is an important distinction for those who find traditional clothing for people with disabilities to be stigmatizing. Alvis said, when I wear the jeans, people don't know I'm wearing an adaptive gene.
Magdalena trout Chon, who lives in have her Straw, New York, has used a wheelchair for twenty years. She blogs at Pretty Cripple and knows well the challenges of finding fashionable items that are also wheelchair friendly. One of her pet peeves is shirts with cups that are too long. These can get dirty when they rub against the wheelchairs tires. Another problem is coats, something also singled out by many respondents in the survey. We mentioned earlier. Coats can get
stuck in the wheelchair wheels because they're so bulky. True Chan said, it's really hard to tuck it under your butt, so you look like a cocoon shape. What would be great is if designers could create two slits up the back like a guys business jacket. Truchon is hopeful that the fashion industry will become more cognizant of the needs
of the disabled community. She said, I think people think that maybe disabled people don't care about their appearance, but I feel like because I take the effort to look good, I make people smile. She reports taking a lot of care with choosing her shoes because people always notice them, and her hats because quote, your face is the first thing a person sees. Another route for customers with disabilities who can afford it might be made to order clothing.
S E n E is a custom made men's wear line that serves and of all body types, including those with limbs, of various sizes. Founder and CEO Ray Lee said in an email interview, it's a very tiny subset of our customer base, but it's definitely a meaningful one for us. Others make do with options in stores. Chris en Selmo who lives in West Hartford, Connecticut, has a
form of muscular distrophy called Miyoshi myopathy. He looks for pants that are wide enough to accommodate his leg braces, and four shirts or jackets he can button up rather than pulling over his head because he has lost arm strength. He said via email, I see things heading in the right direction now that people are starting to realize that
this is a need and an underserved population. Advocates for adaptive and inclusive fashion are starting to make more noise on behalf of the disabled population, and some retailers are taking note. For example, Walmart dot com carries a b L Denom items and the Inclusive Fashion Design Collective was formed to improve accessibility to attractive and functional fashion items in diverse communities. Tommy Hilfiger also has a line of
a apt of clothing for kids. In addition to the efforts of individual designers, there is the Open Style Lab, a nonprofit public service project founded at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It runs a ten week summer program where designers, engineers, and therapists get together to create clothes for people with disabilities.
It also offers an accredited course at Parsons School of Design in New York City, and the lab was part of the White House Fashion Show celebrating inclusive design, assist of Technology and prosthetics, as was a b L Denum Open Style Lab. Executive director Grace June said via email, our mission is to make style accessible to people of all abilities. While there is a growing number of companies in this market, it's still a niche selection of available
clothing that is specifically aimed at people with disabilities. Any individual with or without a disability should have the ability to express themselves. Today's episode is based on the article Clothing industries narrow focus sidelines people with disabilities on how stuff Works dot Com, written by Leo Hoyt. Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio and partnership with how stuff works dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang.
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