Flexible fashion and the power of your style

“Why are all the mannequins standing?” Asks Lucy Jones, founder of wheelchair decorator Ffora, referring to the lack of options in all the consumer goods for seated buyers. It’s just one of the many confusing views aired during the 2-day event, “Sellable Conversations,” with the power of personal style in a disabled community.

Stephanie Thomas, founder of Cur8able.com and a member of the Business of Fashion 500, asks why people with disabilities should break into everything they buy. “I do not fight burglary.

Many of us take for granted the fashion that gives us the power to express our emotions and to contribute to the way people see us. From an early age we point to and refine our image in subtle yet endless ways. The range of options can make us chameleons and give us independence and a sense of empowerment. But what if the only clothes you have in your closet are your ex-boyfriend? This has always been the case with fashion graduate and Short Favor founder, Dr Presta, who as a young man bought in the children’s category for years but hated the colors of Sesame Street and patterns for girls ‘clothing so he had to shop for boys’ clothes.

Jones, who graduates from the Parsons fashion design program, believes that using his knowledge and skills in creating practical accessories and wheelchair styles is a critical part of the conversation. “It shows a way of life and personality.”

One in five people lives with a disability and it is a field that can include anyone in their lifetime. Thomas ’goal at Cur8able is to eliminate atheist barriers that prevent access to people-centered and flexible construction. Actress and activist Jameela Jamil, who has an undiagnosed disability but spent two years in a wheelchair in her youth, does not tolerate the client’s excuses, saying, “If you can, as a designer, design different bodies, you are not very talented. You need to go back to school. “Something better is happening,” said Jones, who turns to Disability Twitter for relevant and up-to-date information. “Having a community is a great force.”

How can fashion share with a disabled consumer
Actor / actor Danny Gomez enjoyed a successful career in LA realizing the image until he suffered a spinal injury at the age of 33. These obstacles that still need to be overcome can be traced back to our teenage years. “We are taught as children to look away,” said Thomas. “So we are not looking at wheelchair users.”

If as a society we do not engage in a disabled society, it is probably not surprising that the fashion industry shows a reluctance to wear this consumer. But the fact is that 20 percent of the fashion-conscious community may be forced to cut off the legs of trousers or spend double the amount of money on a suitable garment. Zappos has emerged as a leading retailer in the area earning respect from flexible wear customers for its disruptive policy of allowing single shoe sales, as well as easy retrieval policy and helpful customer advice. Its website offers flexible clothing products and indirectly branded products, for example, a quick shoe, or a shirt with a zipper or pull-out to meet the needs of those with professional challenges.

Derek Flores of Zappos describes their design in the universe as taking advantage of what is available in the market to suit the consumer and placing key pieces relevant to a particular design. Thus began Zappos Adaptive. “

Tommy Hilfiger gets Jamil’s praise for the way the designer has so forcefully entered the space of adaptation, but dismisses the industry as a whole as a “disgrace”. Continuing to miss out on such an opportunity to do business while all products are closed seems to be a bad strategy to use, especially now that we are emerging from a further reduction in 2020 sales. In conjunction with the lack of design talent above Jamil also shows the expected problem of size in the high end of fashion. The word ‘special’ should not be good. Prejudice is not power, it is foolish, “he said,” it does not involve customers – money. “

Photo credit Brad Swonetz Style by Stephanie Thomas of Zappos Adaptive

Fashion designer Jackie Mallon is also a teacher and author of Silk for the Feed Dogs, a novel set in the international fashion industry.