TWU fashion class creates clothes for scoliosis patients

Dec. 11, 2023 – DENTON – A year ago, TWU's Remy Odukomaiya and her Mass Production Techniques class pushed the boundaries of fashion in a bold direction that the industry had never noticed.

This year, they're kicking and smashing and shattering fashion boundaries.

In 2022, Odukomaiya's students created outfits designed specifically for the needs of homeless men – an underserved audience but one without physical limitations.

The 2023 class took on the challenge of crafting clothing for children in prolonged hospital treatment and encumbered by medical traction equipment. Not the stuff of runway shows, but a lot more rewarding.

"Last year was the pilot," Odukomaiya said. "Seeing how we could get the class involved with community engagement. Last year the garments were based off of a number of hypotheticals, but we were able to make a good product. Now, I thought, how would it be if we actually came in contact with those that need this product? Then the thought came, what about a children's hospital? So we visited Scottish Rite and I asked, 'What do you need?'"

On Dec. 8, in an emotional event attended by three patients and their parents, the class presented Scottish Rite for Children in Dallas with 16 garments designed around the physical restrictions of scoliosis patients.

"They're all ensembles," Odukomaiya said. "There are three different types of tops and three different types of bottoms. They're all interchangeable, even down to the packaging. How we package it is going to be different. So rather than packaging them as sets, we're packaging them as individual pieces. We will display them as complete sets but present them as individual pieces so that children or parents might have a choice of what they want."

The project required a fundamental shift in the design, patterning and assembly process.

"It's a whole different level of thinking," Odukomaiya said. "It's not only about the aesthetics anymore, it's about the function. You're designing it, but what's the function of it? Is it useful? Is it needed? Those questions have to be answered."

Scoliosis is an abnormal curve of the spine. Spines have natural curves, but when seen from behind, the spine is supposed to appear straight. In scoliosis patients, however, the spine curves sideways. Most cases are mild with few symptoms, but some children develop pronounced deformities that can be painful and disabling. As the curve or curves progress, the child could experience breathing or heart problems along with mobility and balance issues, so proper treatment is crucial to help developing, growing children.

One way severe cases are treated is by gradually decompressing and straightening the spine in preparation for surgery. In order to arrest the curvature and straighten the spine, a child is fitted with a halo, which is braced around the chest and shoulders and literally bolted into the skull. From this, the child is suspended, weights are slowly added as needed, and gravity does the rest of the work.

"It sounds kind of intense," said Michael Stimpson, development officer for Scottish Rite. "It's amazing how active these kiddos are in their traction. I think once they get over the initial placement, just the placement of it being in their head, once that soreness is over, they are very active. They get around with a walker oftentimes just fine in that traction.

"A lot of times, we had volunteers who were new to the hospital and maybe had never experienced meeting a patient in halo traction," Stimpson added. "I think the kids a lot of times had fun spinning around in their traction just to kind of surprise the volunteers."

The children often wear the halo traction throughout the day for months. Once the spine has reached its best possible position, the child undergoes surgery to stabilize the spine.

Obviously, the clothes kids love to wear – t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, and sports jerseys – are impossible to put on over the halo and brace.