Having great clothes is a goal that should be easy for everyone to attain. But for people with disabilities, fashion poses special challenges, and finding clothes that fit well and make dressing and undressing easy can be difficult and frustrating. The Fashion Moves Project is staging a design competition that is aimed at providing solutions for the 15% of our population with disabilities.
“Promoting awareness and use of fashionable, functional clothing for men and women” is the mission of Fashion Moves. Its goal is to “move the fashion and garment trades into the 21st Century, and encourage them to follow the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and similar legislation.” Citing examples of its target groups, the organization is aiming to meet challenges such as designing evening gowns that will not tangle in wheels for the Ms. Wheelchair America Pageant, as well as business attire for professionals who use wheelchairs. Likewise, solutions are sought for buttons and fasteners that can pose difficulties for those with Parkinson’s and other neurological disabilities.
The competition is open to all designers and students of design, with the goal of encouraging careers that will take into account those with special needs. Contestants can choose among several garment categories: at home and leisure, sport and casual, office and professional, semi-formal and formal, outerwear and lingerie. Winning designs will become paper sewing patterns, with royalties from their sale paid to the winning designers.
- Fashion Moves was founded by Ruth Clark, whose mother designed and sewed clothing for family members with disabilities and residents of nursing homes
- After her father’s abilities declined because of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, Ruth founded Fashion Magic Apparel in 2002, designing and sewing custom clothing for wheelchair users; the company is run out of her home
Following a series of small fashion shows, Fashion Moves was created as a forum to heighten interest in this specialized clothing niche, tapping into an underserved market. The company’s founder also gives presentations to a variety of groups on related topics, ranging from brief talks to full-day workshops.
The competition opened in September 2009 and closes in the late spring of 2010, with awards to be presented in the fall of this year. Fashion Moves is actively seeking sponsors, with support at levels ranging from $10 – $40,000 and featuring opportunities to boost awareness of sponsor businesses through the website and contest promotional materials.
Fashion Moves, through its commitment, is challenging an entire industry to become involved in helping an important segment of the population button up. This is a moving challenge, designed to help break down barriers for people on the move.