Written by Mariam Farooqui & reviewed by Nicole Fernandes

Fashion is the world’s most prominent concept influencing many of us and our individuality! The world of fashion comes with endless possibilities for design and creativity, but the fashion industry is changing, it’s revolutionizing. This change in the industry is bringing significance to representation we didn’t often see back a few years ago. We would often see more able-bodied people modelling for fashion, but now as the fashion industry changes and progresses, we have seen the evolution of adaptive clothing and fashion. Showing a more diverse way of fashion that can fit anybody brings confidence and awareness to many different disabilities many people face. 

Adaptive Clothing 

Adaptive Clothing is clothes that are easy to put on and wear for people who face mobility challenges mentally or physically. Adaptive clothing has actually been around since the 1950s so it's a vintage concept! Around 1955 and 1976 designers created adaptive garments for disabled patients and referred to under the name ‘Functional Fashion Line”. June Adaptive is a company that believes in and is committed to making people’s lives better through adaptive fashion. We believe in providing a one-stop-shop experience for people who face mobility challenges and empowering people to feel beautiful in their bodies with clothing that curates for them. Our mission and goal are to help people of all abilities find easy-dressing clothes!

Why care about the significance? 

Adaptive Fashion is important to many people. The significance of adaptive fashion is to ensure that everyone of different bodies and different mobility needs can wear comfortable clothes that are easy to slip on and off and protect them as well.  This also allows them to be more independent when changing clothes requiring little help and making their daily challenges a bit easier and more comfortable. Socially, adaptive fashion improves those who face mobility challenges to feel more confident and participate more in social activities, improving their self-esteem and health. Adaptive fashion is a fast-growing area of fashion in the industry, although many mainstream clothing brands don’t make adaptive clothing or make an effort to create it, there are still many brands that do, for example, June Adaptive is proud to provide an entire shop for people who face mobility challenges! We are proud to be a company that can make a community feel safe and make people feel accepted for who they are! 

What does adaptive look like? How does it work?

Adaptive Fashion is very versatile and comes in many different ways with different techniques to help the patient to wear clothes more easily.  Adaptive fashion looks like any other piece of clothing just with a few different adjustments to make it easier for the patient. June Adaptive provides a variety of different styles of clothes with different techniques to wear them! From Magnetic buttons, zippers, anti-slip, overlap, etc. technology in our clothes ensures the patient will have a nice secure and comfortable! Tops with the overlap feature that opens the entire back of the top provide an easy way to slip on the shirt without having to worry about lifting your arms up and alongside there are strategically placed buttons on the shoulders of the top, eliminating any pressure points, this allows the adaptable shirt to be easily secured by caregivers.

Rain Jackets with magnetic zipper, snaps along the sleeve, and the removable hood works perfectly for those who need something to cover themselves from the weather and dress independently after post-surgical/wound management also it is a beautiful jacket that is unique and comfortable for the patient. Not only is it important for clothes to be adaptable but as well as accessories such as shoes! We have shoes that have a zipper that opens up the back of the shoe allowing you to slip on the shoe much faster and easier without any worry! Includes interior padding, cushioned midsole and anti-slip soles at the bottom to provide a safe and secure protection from any chance of falling. Also, very light weight and breathable shoes accommodating for patients with wide feet, swelling feet or braces! Very lightweight as they only weigh right under 9 ounces! 

With all these great products we do highly recommend you consult your local physician first before purchasing any of these products for you or your loved one! We as a company want to create a safe environment for everyone with any mobility challenges and make it a bit easy to live and do things independently! Some of our products include magnets which may cause serious or fatal injury to the patient. Please do not use the product if the patient uses a pacemaker or various other implanted medical devices. Magnets can also be an ingestion hazard. If a magnet becomes exposed anywhere on the clothes immediately dispose of it and, keep it out of reach of children.  

How can I help? How can I bring awareness to Adaptive Fashion and Community? 

Luckily, in this day and age, we are surrounded by different ways and various technologies. There are many ways you can bring awareness and spread the significance of adaptive clothing! One of the ways you can support is by spreading the news and promoting various brands that make adaptive clothing, but also spreading awareness about different disabilities and what challenges comes with them! Second support your mobility-challenged peers! Support them by listening and giving them a safe space to talk about their feeling and experience of facing these challenges and also support them by showing them adaptable fashion that will make it easier for them to dress up daily!

It's important to listen to the voices of those who have experienced challenges with their disabilities so make an effort to hear them out support and respect them. The third way you could bring awareness is by getting involved in the community and spreading awareness about disabilities and adaptive fashion. Campaigns, workshops, etc. are great ways to spread awareness and knowledge about the significance of adaptive fashion!

Support your local disabled community in these ways and with your support not only you doing a good thing for the community, but with this support, you're improving many people’s health mentally and physically by letting them have a voice in your local community! Support your loved ones and peers to improve their quality of living by buying them comfortable clothes! 

Adaptive Fashion holds such a big influence in fashion history, it holds great significance today and is important to be aware of and learn about! For a lot of people, fashion defines who they are, so the creation of adaptive clothing helps people embrace who they are express their individuality and as well as empowering themselves and many others!