‘It is a matter of dignity’: How adaptive clothing aims to empower people with disabilities

As such, her collection includes a top that opens up from the arm holes for individuals with shoulder or arm impairments, a wrap-up saree that can be worn lying down, a kurta with no buttons, trousers with knee pads for people who crawl, and adaptive inner garments for both men and women.

In a similar vein, Ashima Bhan, a designer from Kochi, shifted her focus to adaptive wear after the pandemic affected her business beyond repair. In an attempt to invest in something niche yet meaningful, she started her own line of inclusive clothing, ‘Aaraam Se‘, which translates to ‘with ease’, after being suggested so by a friend.

During that time, Bhan’s father was also hospitalised several times, which also strengthened her resolve to create a label that caters to different physical ailments, and also the elderly who have restricted mobility.

Offering practical solutions like metal snap buttons and openings from the back, her designs are not only functional but also trendy. Additionally, her offerings come attached with tags that can be scanned for instructions on how to wear them.

Unfortunately, inclusive design is not common in the fashion industry, despite the World Health Organization’s estimate that 1 billion people — around 15 per cent of the world’s population — live with a disability. According to the 2011 census, India has around 26.8 million people living with disabilities. Moreover, as per the Adaptive Clothing Market Analysis Survey 2023, the global adaptive clothing market size was valued at approximately 13.6 billion in 2022. Despite being a sizeable share of the market, persons with disabilities are ignored and not considered primary customers.

In such a scenario, Anita Iyer, founder of disability welfare NGO Ekansh Trust in Pune, opined that the absence of adaptive clothing brands can be filled by local tailors. For this, she held a contest to pioneer clothing designs for people with disabilities. Fifteen design teams came up with unique ideas and solutions, and showcased their work on the runway. Taking those designs forward, Iyer has now come up with a catalogue of about 30 designs that can be tweaked according to specifications and made to fit different needs and budgets. “It is a matter of dignity,” she said, hoping that her initiative can benefit people who can’t access or afford adaptive clothing brands.

Parul Sachdeva, too, is working towards creating inclusive fashion for the visually impaired. Always interested in purposeful and meaningful clothing, Sachdeva developed her own line while studying at Pearl Academy. Called ‘6 Dots’, her collection is built on vigorous research that Sachdeva undertook by interviewing visually impaired adults and children.

She has also combined tactile qualities to her clothes such as textured fabrics to help people with blindness recognise their clothing better through touch. (Source: Parul Sachdeva)

“The main problem people with those with vision impairment is identifying clothes, and how to pair their uppers and lowers together,” said Sachdeva. To manage this issue, she incorporated a unique feature to all her clothes — 2×1 method — if there are two pockets in the front, there will be one at the back, which helps people distinguish between the front and backside. She has also added tactile qualities to her clothes, such as textured fabrics, to help people with blindness recognise their clothing better through touch. Each piece also has a message in Braille to empower the users.

Moreover, her garments are colour-coordinated, so that each piece can be effortlessly paired with the other. Additionally, the label also has Braille tags to enable the wearers to know more about their clothing and make an informed choice while shopping.

But, adaptive clothing is not only limited to physical disabilities, it can also cater to cognitive challenges people face. Working on this concept is Saakshi Mahnot, who stumbled upon the idea of appropriate clothing for autistic children. The absence of any options in the market, made her realise that the only solutions available were sourced from outside of India at higher costs, which was not feasible for many families.

Mahnot researched the difficulties faced by autistic children and came across their inability to express themselves and hyper activeness. “There is no focus on the causes that aggravate such hyperactivity. Lace, drawcords, labels, irregular necklines and synthetic fabrics are some examples of how regular clothing results in hyperactivity amongst autistic children,” she said, highlighting that her collection includes t-shirts designed using deep compression therapy – a technique involving application of weight against a child’s body.

The material used creates tightness around the body, and six weights are added that create more pressure. This helps create a hug-like feeling for the child, which in turn calms them down. However, the weights are removable as there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

Mahnot truly believes that brands like hers can create wonders, however, for this to be mainstreamed, “it requires high-end brands to take up the adaptive clothing space as a part of CSR activity, which can create wider reach and availability for the masses.”

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