SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR EMBRACES GROWING TREND FOR INCLUSIVE AND ADAPTIVE FASHION

Former nurse and clothing up cycler Rachel Thompson, from Surrey is an advocate of “individuality and uniqueness”.

“What we wear and how we wear our clothes is a reflection of our personality and gives the outside world a glimpse into whowe are. I have always encouraged my children to dress how they want to, in what makes them happy and to not follow the herd. Imagine if that choice was not an option due to limitations in clothing designs and a lack of availability of adapted clothes,” she says.

Rachel didn’t need to imagine. In 2023, she was invited to take part in a fashion challenge to raise funds for a local home-from-home care provider, Cherry Trees UK. She was tasked with upcycling a denim jacket for “Jane”, a young wheelchair user who is non-verbal, using a pod book to communicate.

“With the help of her parents and the pod book, Jane expressed to me exactly which fabrics and colours she liked. Her parents, along with many others I met, explained how there was very little fashionable adapted clothing available to their children in the UK. They needed clothes that were practical, age appropriate and fashionable but often jogging bottoms are their only option,” recalls Rachel.

“This was my lightbulb moment. How can young people and children express their personality if there is no choice available?”

Rachel was shocked and saddened by the lack of fashion choices.

“Limited mobility shouldn’t mean you can’t wear up-to-date fashions. In the UK there are very few clothing brands which specialise in designing clothes for adolescents with specialeducational needs and wheelchair users, and that needs to be rectified.”

True to her word, Rachel with the help of her daughter, who was working at a school for children with special educational needs, spent the months following the fundraising event working together with the young people, their parents and teaching staff to design fashionable and functional garments.

Parents expressed the need to ensure the fabrics chosen were soft and nothing would rub on their skin if they were sitting all day in a wheelchair. In addition, “We wanted to promote independence as well as helping busy parents and carers to dress, toilet and undress the children”. 

It was decided the starting point would be a pair of fashionable unisex trousers and then in time design a capsule wardrobe when funds allowed. “I have a very small budget to work from, £15,000, which was form my savings and a loan from my husband. Ideally, I would like to have these trousers made in different colours and in patterned fabrics but I have to start small and not get carried away”. 

Rachel is in the process of gleaning feedback from a detachable waterproof backed dungaree bib which attaches to the trousers and can be changed for another when wet or dirty. “These I will be making myself as a custom order for customers until I know they are of benefit and a success. I am determined to design something that does not look like a bib, but serves the same function for children and young adults who have unintentional loss of saliva issues.”

Adapted Trends Clothing UK launched in September 2024 with the first trousers in what Rachel is confident will become a growing collection. The zip-front cargo-style trousers have already attracted praise for helping to “make dressing my son so much easier” while the zip front section means “I can use my toilet bottle without help from anyone else”.

Rachel is over the moon with the feedback. “Our aim is to create clothes that are both on trend and fit for purpose. Clothes that make getting dressed/undressed and going to the toilet easier, whilst also providing the freedom of personal choice.

“In time I hope to expand the clothing line and create future designs and adaptations with the help of young fashionistas, their parents and carers. I would greatly appreciate any constructive feedback on the trouser and bib design and welcome any ideas or wishes for future projects,” says Rachel.

Rachel is not alone in launching an adaptive clothing brand, which is good news for people of all ages with physical issues looking for fashionable accessible garments.

This year, adaptive clothing is creeping into shops on the British high street, with Marks & Spencer and Primark both launching collections.

A survey by Primark found that 59% of respondents would buy more adaptive apparel if it was available from high street retailers. It’s also important for brands to involve the people the products are meant for in the design process to ensure garments meet their needs effectively.

Adapted Trends Clothing UK is currently available to purchase online at www.adaptedtrendsclothinguk.co.uk, an accessible option for shoppers. Following the launch, Rachel wants to build a community of collaborators on social media, asking for ideas on items of clothing and suggestions about colours and fabrics.

“This is the start of the journey but Adapted Trends can only develop and be successful with the help of those that will be wearing the clothes. Ideally, I would love to have an expert panel of young people with special needs, wheelchair users and parents/carers who can tell me what they’d like to wear and we work together to come up with ideas and designs.

“Children and young people with special needs have personalities and this needs to shine through and be reflected in what they wear. I want children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities to share what they love to wear. My dream is to create a collage of fashion photographs to emphasise their individual tastes and fashion sense.”