FT NEWS

Many of us take for granted quite how much fashion offers us the ability to express ourselves and to have a role in how people perceive us. From an early age we are identifying and refining our image in subtle but limitless ways. The breadth of options can make us chameleons and grant us independence and a sense of empowerment. But what if the only clothes available to you means you are mistaken for a boy when you identify as a girl? This was the case for fashion graduate and founder of Short Favor, Dru Presta, who as a little person shopped in the children’s section for years but hated the Sesame Street colors and patterns of girl’s clothes and so had to shop in boyswear. 1 in 5 people live with disabilities and it is a sector that could include anyone during the course of their lives.

How fashion can engage with the disabled consumer

If as a society we don’t engage with the disabled community, perhaps it’s less surprising that the fashion industry demonstrates reluctance to dress this consumer. But the reality is that a potential 20 percent of the fashion-buying public is being forced to lop off the legs of pants or spend twice as much on tailoring as a garment is worth. Zappos stands out as the premier retailer in this space having earned the respect of the adaptive-wear customer for its disruptive policy of allowing single shoe sales, as well as its easy returns policy and helpful customer advice. Its website offers adaptive-wear brands together with products that are inadvertently adaptive, a great slip-on shoe, for example, or a shirt with zippers or magnets to meet the needs of those with dexterity challenges.

Zappos describes their assortment of universal design as taking what is available on the market to suit the consumer and layering in essential pieces that are more design-specific. Zappos can pivot, change on a dime, if an idea makes sense. That’s how Zappos Adaptive started.

Tommy Hilfiger earns praise for how the designer has stepped robustly into the adaptive space, but she condemns the industry at large as "embarrassing". Continuing to miss out on such an opportunity to do business while all around brands are shuttering does seem a poor strategy to employ, especially now as we emerge from 2020’s most dramatic retail slowdown. Together with the aforementioned lack of design that also points to the lingering problem of elitism at fashion’s higher end.