The segment of designing apparel products for people with disabilities is often referred to as adaptive fashion. According to the World Health Organization's estimates in recent years, there are about 1 billion people with disabilities worldwide, which is growing rapidly compared to 6 years ago.
According to the data released by the China Disabled Persons' Federation in 2019, the total number of disabled people in the mainland currently exceeds 85 million, accounting for 6.34% of the total population of the country, involving 260 million families, which is a very large group. As many as 61 million adults in the United States currently have disabilities, accounting for a quarter of the U.S. adult population, and 3.7% of them have difficulty dressing.
Although the attention of the disabled population in all walks of life is becoming more and more popular, as in the various diversity issues discussed in the fashion industry, has the fashion industry done enough to fully accept people with disabilities?
This was discussed at the Fairchild Media Group Diversity Forum. Among those involved were Francesco Clark, CEO and founder of Clark's Botanicals, a brand of Clean Beauty, Aaron Rose Philip, a transgender disability model, Mindy Scheier, CEO and founder of Gamut Management and the nonprofit Runway of Dreams, and Zappos Adaptive Business Development Manager Dana Zumbo. Through many observations and speeches, it can be found that the fashion industry still has a lot of efforts to do.
Francesco Clark、Dana Zumbo、
Aaron Rose Philip、Mindy Scheier
Dana Zumbo, Business Development Manager at Zappos Adaptive, said: "As retailers, we have a responsibility to offer people in more different situations a variety of options, giving everyone the opportunity to express themselves through fashion. But we still have a lot of work to do, and we need more brands, more companies, organizations and individuals to change the conversation around disability, inclusion and fashion. ”
Zappos Adaptive has been committed to making further progress in this area in the past. Zappos launched the Zappos Adaptive Shopping Experience in 2017 and has teamed up with a number of brands to create content for people with disabilities.
In 2019, Zappos Adaptive also hosted a special Zappos Adaptive fashion show with the nonprofit Runway of Dreams for employees and supplier partners, inviting 30 models of different ages, races, genders and disabilities to promote fashionable and practical clothing and footwear products.
Zappos Adaptive
Runway of Dreams, a nonprofit that has also been committed to the disabled to have a place in fashion, is the son of CEO and founder Mindy Scheier, who founded the nonprofit in 2014 as a fashion designer. At the forum, she said that at that time, there were no brands serving people with disabilities in the adaptive fashion market.
In 2016, Runway of Dreams partnered with Tommy Hilfiger to develop the first adaptive series, now Tommy Adaptive. Earlier this month, Runway of Dreams hosted a runway show in Hollywood showcasing six adaptive brands, including Zappos, Tommy Hilfiger, Target, J.C Penney, Kohl's and Stride Rite. "In a relatively short period of time, we have grown to more than 6 brands dedicated to adaptive fashion, which is a big step in the development of our industry. But as Dana Zumbo said, we still have a lot of work to do, and we're just getting started. ”
Tommy Hilfiger adaptive
To help more brands know where to start and join the adaptive fashion band, Mindy Scheier also founded Gamut Management to advise brands, and Victoria's Secret received support as it prepared to enter the space.
It is worth mentioning that Mindy Scheier believes that companies need to provide services and well-being for people with disabilities in products, services, advertising and marketing, and even within the company, "if there are no disabled executives in the workforce, the original intention of the brand is not necessarily real." Mindy Scheier also said at the forum that the beneficiaries of creating products for people with disabilities are not limited to these "minorities".
Francesco Clark, the eponymous founder of Clark's Botanicals, agrees, adding: "All types of people have talent, curiosity and a thirst for knowledge, and brands can only truly benefit if they are truly embraced." ”
At the age of 24, Francesco Clark was paralyzed from the neck down in a diving accident, and the skin detoxification system was severely affected and became extremely fragile and sensitive, and plagued by persistent skin diseases such as dry erythema, Francesco Clark recalled in the forum: "Your life can change in the blink of an eye. ”
Francesco Clark
"When I was treated in intensive care... I myself began to think and question, 'What does it really mean and represent to be a human being?' What makes you attractive? With the help of his father, Harold Clark, a doctor, he insisted on finding a way to heal his skin. After five years and 78 formulations to develop the jasmine Catalyst Complex, a patented skincare ingredient, Francesco Clark founded Clark's Botanicals Kleck's Plant Factory, a pure natural plant skincare brand that meets international Clean Beauty standards.
In addition to this, Francesco Clark is also keenly considering ideas such as barrier-free packaging to make products easier for more people, saying: "This does not have to be beneficial only if you have a disability. ”
Aaron Rose Philip, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a baby and is currently a model, attracted a lot of attention from the fashion industry when she appeared on moschino's show at New York Fashion Week last September, saying, "Jeremy Scott understands that we need haute couture just like everyone else. And he also sees that we have been excluded from the mainstream narrative of the fashion industry for a long time. ”
Moschino Spring/Summer 2022 Fashion Show
In addition, individuals who are trapped by physical disabilities and lack of care and opportunities for expression are not only Aaron Rose Philip and Francesco Clark. There have also been more fashion or beauty brands that have been focusing on the disability population for a long time, and as of now, Runway of Dreams has partnered with Estée Lauder, L'Oréal, AlixPartners and dozens of American fashion brands.
However, just as the consumption patterns and market environments of the global market industry are changing, the communication between the disabled, inclusive issues and fashion needs to be updated and continue to receive attention. As Dana Zumbo says, we still have a lot of work to do, and we need more brands, more companies, organizations and individuals to change the conversation around disability, inclusion and fashion. WWD
Written by Lisa Lockwood
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