Fashion-forward accessibility

TWU fashion students create garments for patients at Scottish Rite

Dec. 2, 2024 — DENTON — Texas Woman's University's Fashion Design & Merchandising mass production class is continuing its dive into the uncharted waters of creating clothing for disabled clients.

"This class has really opened my eyes," student Faith Stockton said.

A year ago, 13 students crafted three sets of clothes for patients with scoliosis at Scottish Rite for Children, a pediatric hospital in Dallas. This year, 20 students are producing four sets of clothes for patients with scoliosis, spina bifida, prosthetics or who are wheelchair bound.

This year, there is a greater emphasis on patient independence.

"We heard from interviews that one of the things Scottish Rite is trying to do is increase the independence of these kids," said Remy Odukomaiya, MFA and the class instructor. "They're teaching them how to change their own catheters and how to dress themselves. We took those stories and experiences, and we're putting them into these garments."

And this year, there is increased importance given to fashion-forward clothing.

"Of course we have major emphasis on the functionality of the garments we make," Eric Bravo Walker said. "However, we want to incorporate aspects that we would normally incorporate on regular outfits, like style, color, what's trending right now, things like that. It's not enough to just focus on functionality when we could do more and could just make people feel as included as everybody else. They're all people, so we're trying our best to make sure that functionality works and that the clothes will make them happy."

"Being able to keep the fact that these garments are handicapped accessible inconspicuous is a huge part of what we're doing, too," Faith Stockton said. "Anyone can wear them."

"They go right along with our generation's trends," Trinity Mendez-Alston said. "Like techwear having a lot of functionality with straps, pockets, things like that."

"Our scope has expanded," Odukomaiya said.

The mass production class will deliver this year's garments to Scottish Rite on Dec. 2.

"What we put together last year, we're expanding and making it more fun," Odukomaiya said. "We've got nice, bright colors this year, too. I'm just so excited that with the experience last year. The ideas are flowing."

Among the new ideas are pants that can change length, "for kids who want to maybe take off one side to be a short and the other to have a long leg because they're waiting for their prosthesis," Odukomaiya  said. There are pants that can fit over boots and shirts that can open across both shoulders. There are also skirts this year.

"We learned a lot of attention to every little detail," Kimngan Tran said. "Some children bruise easily and seams irritate their skin, so we're reconstructing patterns. We're making sure the clothes are not only pretty and functional but also feel good. It's just really rewarding to find ways to make this work."

The class is definitely gaining traction on and off campus. In addition to the increased enrollment, the class budget increased due to a $1,000 contribution from the Trinity Valley Quilters Guild.

"During my first year, I heard other people talking about this class and how it was going to help people, sort of like accommodations in clothing," Walker said. "I really got excited about that. I like what we're doing right now."

Two years ago, the class designed and made clothing for homeless men before Odukomaiya began coordinating with Scottish Rite last year, and the class has certainly stimulated the creativity of its students in directions rarely contemplated.

"I'd never had thought about fashion from an accessibility standpoint because I didn't necessarily know that there was a gap in fashion," Stockton said. "The garments we're making are giving people back their independence, making sure they can put it on themselves and that they look their age and that they can dress trendy and also be a part of their generation socially. We're focusing on making something they can put on themselves, feel independent and express themselves through fashion. We're trying to focus on making clothes accessible and fashion forward."

"I really love that we're doing this because it opens our eyes and noticing that there aren't a lot of designers designing for people who have disabilities," Mendez-Alston said. "We did a lot of research, and it inspired me as a designer."

So much so that students are considering including disabled models in their senior show.

"This is definitely very inclusive for people with disabilities, so I definitely think that I will be taken that into account in the future," Walker said.