How Can the Fashion Industry Better Serve People with Disabilities?

surveyed a hundred and 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 sciences 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 idal 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 Denom, 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 everyone said genes 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 could 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. Elvis said, when I wear the jeans, people don't know I'm wearing an adaptive gene. Mandalina trout Chon, who lives in Haverstraw, 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 cuffs 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. Tru 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 at the back like a guys business jacket. Tu Chon 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 root for customers with disabilities who can afford it might be made to order clothing.

S E n E is a custom made men'sware line that serves men 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 and 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 jacket he can button up or 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. Denam 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 adaptive

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 in 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 was written by Elia Hoyt and produced by Tyler Clang. For more on this and lots of other inclusive topics, visit our home planet, how Stuff Works dot com.