When fashion designer Saba Kamaras watched her brother and sister-in-law care for her niece Eva, who had a gastrostomy tube placed when she was very young, she noticed something that no one in the industry seemed to be paying attention to.
Adaptive fashion is often discussed as a category, a trend or a specialized market. But for many disabled people, getting dressed is not about trends at all.
Fashion has always been part of Kyla’s life. Long before she became a content creator and model, she was the girl searching for pieces that felt different, nostalgic and uniquely her own.
Emma Lines did not grow up imagining herself in fashion campaigns, on public stages or becoming one of the voices pushing fashion to see disability differently.
Getting dressed in the morning is something most of us do without a second thought. We open our wardrobes, pick something we like, and get on with our day.
For much of her life, Abena Christine Jon’el, a Ghanaian-American model, advocate, speaker and traveller, hid her prosthetic leg. Shorts were off limits. Skirts stayed in the closet.
The fashion industry often celebrates confidence, individuality and self-expression. Yet for many disabled women, getting dressed can feel less like self-expression and more like problem-solving.
In the face of a very strong manufacturing and tailoring tradition recognized worldwide, adaptive fashion struggles to find a structured space in mainstream Italian retail.
Keeping the closet exactly the same
Everything has a place, and it stays there. Once something is learned, there’s no need to rethink it every day.
From the moment Fay starts talking about fashion, one thing becomes obvious. This isn’t a style she discovered. It’s one she’s always had. Matching outfits have long been essential.