Shopping for clothes online might sometimes feel like a gamble to most people. For disabled people, the lack of information makes it nearly impossible.
They need to know about pockets, zip detailing, button features, fabric and closures to help them determine if the garment would work for them — for example, would it be comfortable and useful while seated in a wheelchair?
Small metal rivets in jeans can cause sores for a person who is paraplegic, and a hook in the back can be the difference between a disabled person being able to dress themselves or not.
As such, browsing designer stores online for stylish clothes that work for their individual needs can be tricky at best.
One New Zealand-based website wants to change this by making designer fashion accessible to people with disabilities.
The online platform All is for All is the brainchild of 21-year-old New Zealander Grace Stratton, who was born with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. The site aims to challenge social norms about disabilities and to inspire everyone towards a more inclusive world.
Fashion is a way of expressing who she is, Stratton says, beyond what her wheelchair may communicate to others. But she was frustrated with shopping online — and thus the concept for All is for All was born.
“We’ve started an online platform that makes accessibility sexy. We produce editorial style fashion content, garment curations, and provide commentary championing inclusion,” she explains.
The website curates designer clothing from more than a dozen of New Zealand’s hottest designers, presents it on models with different needs and provides extra information to make the clothing accessible.
Stratton prefers using the term “access needs” instead of “disability.”
“The word disability places the blame on the person with the need,” she says. Saying someone is disabled implies that there is something wrong with them.
“In contrast, the term ‘access needs’ says that a person is entirely able to access anything in front of them, given the implementation of great design and technology solutions which considers their needs,” she explains. All is for All also doesn’t ask designers to change their collections.
“I think a lot of people believe that accessibility is achieved by specifically targeting people with access needs through specially designed products,” she says.
While adaptation can be helpful at times, it should not be the only option. “Our messaging to the consumer shouldn’t be that a designer has made a ‘special’ range for disabled people. Instead it should be ‘here is my entire line open to you for purchase.’ These products are all accessible options for anyone who wants them,” she explains. – dpa
