Michelle Mckim - BA (Hons) Fashion Design and Technology
Complex Beings SS-2025 - Adaptive womenswear collection
Fashion isn’t just about designing and creating something that people would like to wear and feel confident in, it’s about solving issues the fashion industry tends to overlook or even ignore. From my own experiences as a chronically ill individual and from learning about the lived experiences of others in the disabled community I wanted my collection to address the lack of representation, challenge stereotypes, and celebrate disabled bodies in a society that wasn't built for us. Adaptive fashion isn't difficult, despite most of the industry refusing to create accessible clothing that everyone can wear, because they believe it's too difficult....but I want to show you how simple yet powerful it can be, by creating a fun and vibrant collection that includes adaptive features (like magnets, modular sleeves for limb differences, length adjustability for height inclusion, arm access for blood tests and medical device access, feeding tube ports and a few more).
The disabled community make up the world’s biggest minority group of approx. 2 billion people, but aren’t only under-represented, they aren’t treated as consumers with hardly any brands catering to their needs. This needs to change, however it is also notable that anyone at any point in their life can become disabled.
So when we design for disability, we not only design for everybody, we are future-proofing. We create garments that can stay in your wardrobe no matter what changes your body may face. Adaptive design for that reason also becomes the more sustainable option.
Through extensive research and experimenting with bonding technology I made sensory-friendly seams for people with sensitive skin, and incorporated functional features: magnetic zips for one handed use, ring pull zips in sleeves and snap fasteners on the bodice for medical device access to ensure a wider audience can wear my garments....because fashion is for everyone.
