WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: How Can the Fashion Industry Better Serve People with Disabilities?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren Bolgebaum here with a classic from the

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<v Speaker 1>podcast archives. We touch on the fashion industry occasionally on

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<v Speaker 1>this show. After all, it touches on art, material science, history,

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<v Speaker 1>and lots more of the subjects that we cover, but

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<v Speaker 1>today's classic focuses in on a specific issue, the representation,

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<v Speaker 1>or the lack thereof, of the interests of people with

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<v Speaker 1>disabilities within the industry. Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Vogebam Here,

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<v Speaker 1>The fashion industry has some catching up to do when

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<v Speaker 1>it comes to considering people with disabilities. That's according to

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<v Speaker 1>the results of a recent study which surveyed thirteen people

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<v Speaker 1>with mobility impairments. The findings showed that about half of

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<v Speaker 1>the respondents were unable to attend events like weddings, school dances,

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<v Speaker 1>and job interviews, or even to work out because they

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<v Speaker 1>couldn't find appropriate clothing. Alison Cable, lead study author and

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<v Speaker 1>assistant professor of Health side in the University of Missouri's

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<v Speaker 1>School of Health Professions, set in a press release, the

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<v Speaker 1>clothing industry continues to exclusively cater to able bodied individuals,

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<v Speaker 1>despite the fact that people with disabilities often miss out

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<v Speaker 1>on important life events due to clothing related problems. The

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<v Speaker 1>study authors call on the fashion industry to take the

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<v Speaker 1>millions of Americans living with disabilities into consideration when creating clothes.

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<v Speaker 1>They wrote, the design fields and apparel industry could play

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<v Speaker 1>a vital role in helping people with mobility disabilities navigate

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<v Speaker 1>these barriers. Some fashion designers have already heated the call.

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<v Speaker 1>Stephanie Alvez is the founder, CEO, and designer of a

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<v Speaker 1>b L Denim, which provides quality denom genes for people

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<v Speaker 1>with limited dexterity and mobility or with sensory processing issues

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<v Speaker 1>like autism. She made the leap into the world of

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<v Speaker 1>adaptive fashion after her step sister became a wheelchair user

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<v Speaker 1>eight years ago. Elvis explains she wasn't getting dressed much.

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<v Speaker 1>She looked on the web and all she could find

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<v Speaker 1>was geriatric clothing. So I started a Janes line because

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<v Speaker 1>or one said jeans were what they wanted most. Elves

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<v Speaker 1>modifies designs to meet the various needs of people with disabilities.

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<v Speaker 1>She said. Someone who sits in a wheelchair all day

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<v Speaker 1>can be prone to pressure sores. Seems can push and hurt,

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<v Speaker 1>and pressure sores can land you in the hospital for

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<v Speaker 1>three months, so she strategically places seems to prevent pressure sores,

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<v Speaker 1>and offers pants that are cut higher in the back

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<v Speaker 1>to prevent them from slipping too low, a common complaint

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<v Speaker 1>of wheelchair users. She offers one style with a zipper

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<v Speaker 1>from the waist to the hips, so the whole front

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<v Speaker 1>of the pants can come down. That makes it easier

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<v Speaker 1>for people with catheters, feeding tubes, or clostby bags to use.

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<v Speaker 1>Best of all, anyone can wear her designs, which is

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<v Speaker 1>an important distinction for those who find traditional clothing for

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<v Speaker 1>people with disabilities to be stigmatizing. Alvis said, when I

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<v Speaker 1>wear the jeans, people don't know I'm wearing an adaptive gene.

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<v Speaker 1>Magdalena trout Chon, who lives in have her Straw, New York,

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<v Speaker 1>has used a wheelchair for twenty years. She blogs at

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<v Speaker 1>Pretty Cripple and knows well the challenges of finding fashionable

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<v Speaker 1>items that are also wheelchair friendly. One of her pet

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<v Speaker 1>peeves is shirts with cups that are too long. These

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<v Speaker 1>can get dirty when they rub against the wheelchairs tires.

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<v Speaker 1>Another problem is coats, something also singled out by many

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<v Speaker 1>respondents in the survey. We mentioned earlier. Coats can get

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<v Speaker 1>stuck in the wheelchair wheels because they're so bulky. True

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<v Speaker 1>Chan said, it's really hard to tuck it under your butt,

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<v Speaker 1>so you look like a cocoon shape. What would be

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<v Speaker 1>great is if designers could create two slits up the

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<v Speaker 1>back like a guys business jacket. Truchon is hopeful that

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<v Speaker 1>the fashion industry will become more cognizant of the needs

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<v Speaker 1>of the disabled community. She said, I think people think

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<v Speaker 1>that maybe disabled people don't care about their appearance, but

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<v Speaker 1>I feel like because I take the effort to look good,

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<v Speaker 1>I make people smile. She reports taking a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>care with choosing her shoes because people always notice them,

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<v Speaker 1>and her hats because quote, your face is the first

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<v Speaker 1>thing a person sees. Another route for customers with disabilities

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<v Speaker 1>who can afford it might be made to order clothing.

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<v Speaker 1>S E n E is a custom made men's wear

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<v Speaker 1>line that serves and of all body types, including those

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<v Speaker 1>with limbs, of various sizes. Founder and CEO Ray Lee

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<v Speaker 1>said in an email interview, it's a very tiny subset

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<v Speaker 1>of our customer base, but it's definitely a meaningful one

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<v Speaker 1>for us. Others make do with options in stores. Chris

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<v Speaker 1>en Selmo who lives in West Hartford, Connecticut, has a

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<v Speaker 1>form of muscular distrophy called Miyoshi myopathy. He looks for

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<v Speaker 1>pants that are wide enough to accommodate his leg braces,

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<v Speaker 1>and four shirts or jackets he can button up rather

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<v Speaker 1>than pulling over his head because he has lost arm strength.

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<v Speaker 1>He said via email, I see things heading in the

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<v Speaker 1>right direction now that people are starting to realize that

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<v Speaker 1>this is a need and an underserved population. Advocates for

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<v Speaker 1>adaptive and inclusive fashion are starting to make more noise

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<v Speaker 1>on behalf of the disabled population, and some retailers are

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<v Speaker 1>taking note. For example, Walmart dot com carries a b

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<v Speaker 1>L Denom items and the Inclusive Fashion Design Collective was

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<v Speaker 1>formed to improve accessibility to attractive and functional fashion items

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<v Speaker 1>in diverse communities. Tommy Hilfiger also has a line of

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<v Speaker 1>a apt of clothing for kids. In addition to the

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<v Speaker 1>efforts of individual designers, there is the Open Style Lab,

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<v Speaker 1>a nonprofit public service project founded at the Massachusetts Institute

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<v Speaker 1>of Technology. It runs a ten week summer program where designers, engineers,

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<v Speaker 1>and therapists get together to create clothes for people with disabilities.

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<v Speaker 1>It also offers an accredited course at Parsons School of

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<v Speaker 1>Design in New York City, and the lab was part

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<v Speaker 1>of the White House Fashion Show celebrating inclusive design, assist

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<v Speaker 1>of Technology and prosthetics, as was a b L Denum

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<v Speaker 1>Open Style Lab. Executive director Grace June said via email,

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<v Speaker 1>our mission is to make style accessible to people of

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<v Speaker 1>all abilities. While there is a growing number of companies

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<v Speaker 1>in this market, it's still a niche selection of available

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<v Speaker 1>clothing that is specifically aimed at people with disabilities. Any

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<v Speaker 1>individual with or without a disability should have the ability

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<v Speaker 1>to express themselves. Today's episode is based on the article

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<v Speaker 1>Clothing industries narrow focus sidelines people with disabilities on how

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<v Speaker 1>stuff Works dot Com, written by Leo Hoyt. Brain Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>is production of I Heart Radio and partnership with how

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<v Speaker 1>stuff works dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang.

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