{"id":28284,"date":"2022-01-20T15:55:45","date_gmt":"2022-01-20T20:55:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/news\/?p=18407"},"modified":"2023-12-01T13:38:21","modified_gmt":"2023-12-01T18:38:21","slug":"fashion-for-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/news\/2022\/01\/fashion-for-all\/","title":{"rendered":"Fashion For All\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n

By Sarah Stone<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the 2021 Threads Senior Collection<\/a> show, 321 Coffee<\/a> barista Matthew spoke to the audience about the impact of the \u201cSonder\u201d collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe look beautiful today, and because of that, we are confident.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every fall, Wilson College of Textiles students enroll in the course to develop their own runway-ready collections<\/a>. Team members from 321 Coffee modeled Mary Grace Wilder and Sabrina Martin\u2019s collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI loved doing the fashion show with Mary Grace and it makes me happy,\u201d barista Dreyahna says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

321 Coffee employs baristas with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The small business, founded by NC State alumna Lindsay Wrege, made the perfect partner for \u201cSonder<\/a>,\u201d which aimed to showcase ways that beautiful and expressive clothing can be accessible to consumers anywhere on the spectrum of physical and cognitive abilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you search adaptive clothing on Google, it\u2019s usually combined with the category of ‘senior clothing’ and ‘medical clothing,’ and it’s not the same,\u201d master\u2019s student Sabrina Martin says. \u201cThere are kids who have adaptive needs. There are teenagers. There are adults across every age, and the clothes you\u2019re wearing every day shouldn’t look like you just walked out of a hospital room.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Models<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Martin and Wilder created looks for 12 models, some with disabilities and others without. They designed every garment to be something that a consumer would want to wear even if they don\u2019t need the adaptive features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere doesn’t need to be a whole different market for this,\u201d master\u2019s student Mary Grace Wilder says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Motivated by loved ones, guided by an expert<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Both Martin and Wilder started the course with plans to develop some sort of adaptive line. Each has watched someone important to them \u2013 for Wilder, a family member with Parkinson\u2019s Disease, and for Martin, a family friend with Down Syndrome \u2013 struggle to find clothing that\u2019s easy to put on, comfortable to wear and stylish enough to feel confident in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the beginning of the semester, when they both approached me and said this is what they wanted to do, I said, \u2018You need to work together,\u2019\u201d Associate Professor Kate Annett-Hitchcock<\/a> remembers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The timing was nothing short of serendipitous. Annett-Hitchcock\u2019s research specializes in inclusive apparel, and she taught Threads for the first time last semester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI honestly could not pick a better person to teach this class for the collection that we’re doing,\u201d Wilder says. \u201cIt’s really helpful to have somebody with this experience who can give you great suggestions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Developing specialized solutions that work for everyone<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Designers had to incorporate specialized solutions to address specific needs of nearly every model in the collection. Moreover, they had to do so in a way that the garment wouldn\u2019t look or feel out of the ordinary to a consumer without that specific need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To account for models with sensitivities, Martin and Wilder used fabrics made from natural fibers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also employed Shima Seiki technology to make whole-knit garments without seams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s supposed to have capabilities of cocooning, so making someone feel like they’re being hugged,\u201d Martin says. \u201cThat helps with nerve stimulation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other adaptive features included drawstring sleeves, alternative closures and accordion side paneling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Martin<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

More than a project<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Just a few weeks after the collection\u2019s launch, both Martin and Wilder have plans to continue their work on inclusive apparel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Martin is gearing her master\u2019s thesis towards the topic under the direction of Annett-Hitchcock, and Wilder is centering her final project on a similar focus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leaders in the field are also noticing the pair\u2019s work. The North Carolina Spinal Cord Injury Association<\/a> (NCSCIA) helped connect Martin and Wilder with a model for the show. Now, the NCSCIA has invited both of the students, as well as Annett-Hitchcock, to help with a fashion show at its women\u2019s conference this spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their ultimate goal, however, is to recreate their Threads collection and their partnership on a larger scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt would be a dream come true for something like this to be our career and to bring the joy that we brought to our models to a bigger population,\u201d Martin says. \u201cThis experience just confirmed exactly what I think we’re both meant to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Martin<\/figure>\n\n\n\n