Fashion Forward

Ever dreamed of pursuing your dream of being a fashion designer? PosAbility caught up with Maria O’Sullivan-Abeyratne founder of inclusive online retailer Adaptista to discuss the changes that need to happen in the fashion industry  

By Rosalind Tulloch 

It’s January 2023, and I have just read that a scholarship competition from inclusive online retailer Adaptista and the British Academy of Fashion Design, has been launched to encourage disabled people to pursue an education in fashion. 

My first thoughts are joyous, what a positive move to encourage disabled people to pursue their dreams of fashion design and hopefully help educate the fashion industry on the need for adapted clothing. However, I am also plagued by the question “why are we still having to fight for appropriate clothing for disabled people in the year 2023?” 

These sentiments are echoed by Maria O’Sullivan-Abeyratne, founder of Adaptista, and the driving force behind the scholarship programme. Talking with Maria, you can hear the passion in her voice when she talks about affecting change in the fashion industry. She is a straight-talking Irish woman that steers clear of the limelight and shies away from press opportunities believing “that actions speak for themselves”.  

Maria doesn’t want to waste time talking about good intentions, she just wants to see things get done. This is the exact attitude that has seen her launch Adaptista with her husband John, and join forces with the British Academy for Fashion Design to launch this amazing scholarship programme worth £8,000. 

Adaptista, is a small but vital marketplace for inclusive brands to showcase and sell their items. It is home to a wide array of brands specialising in functional yet stylish must have items, from clothing and jewellery to skincare and homewares, and it is a growing community. 

Maria, who is disabled herself, recognised the need for a change in the fashion industry, following the struggle she had finding a wedding dress – a dress she subsequently changed out of halfway through the day to hit the dancefloor more comfortably. This experience sparked a need for action and following a return to studying fashion design, Maria has not only launched Adaptista and started a scholarship programme, she is also using her talents to revolutionise adaptive wear for disabled people with her own designs (patents pending) and make clothing more affordable too. 

To read the full article and find out more about the scholarship competition click here