“With Primark recognising the needs of the disabled and chronically ill community and acting upon it in such a meaningful way... this is going to be life changing for millions of people. Disabled people will be able to go shopping together for affordable, adaptive clothing,” says Victoria Jenkins, adaptive fashion designer and founder of Unhidden.
This year you’ll be able to find adaptive clothing in Primark stores, as the fashion giant has teamed with Victoria to create a trendy new line. With Victoria’s knowledge of what different disabled people need and her expertise of clothing manufacturing, she has worked with the Primark team for over a year to create this new line, which is based on conversations with, and feedback from, the disabled community.
Just the beginning
The range will be available on the ground floor of selected Primark stores in the UK and internationally (exactly which stores the range will be available in is being kept under wraps at the time of publication). Rails for adaptive clothing for wheelchair users will be at a suitable height, and ordering online, via click and collect, will also be an option. And it's hoped other retailers will soon follow suit.
“The difference with adaptive fashion is having something designed for you. It’s not an afterthought. Not something that’s been put onto a garment after the fact, once it’s been made. This is designing it from the beginning with people and their needs considered,” says Victoria.
“It means every other brand is going to have to do it. Primark is big, but no one shops in just one shop; people want choice. Primark will lead, but this will force the hand of other retailers, which can only mean more equity. It’s getting that bit closer to Unhidden’s mission, which is normalising inclusive design.” But why has it taken so long? Fear, cost, and the misconception that there isn’t really a demand for it, says Victoria.
But that’s false. “The adaptive fashion market is predicted to outgrow the second-hand and sustainable market because there’s more demand for it because no one’s been doing it. I think it will rapidly expand in a way that we won’t have seen before. This will shift the entire retail landscape.”
Universal design
With a background in fashion as a garment technologist, Victoria has extensive design knowledge and a long, varied career in the fashion industry. But in 2012 Victoria had a chronic illness which changed the course of her life.
Victoria’s lightbulb moment came when she was in hospital speaking to a woman on the ward with cancer, who couldn't dress how she wanted to as there was nothing available for work, leisure or even hospital.
“That was 2016 and the landscape of adaptive fashion at that point was bleak. What was on offer was very wipe clean. Some of it was kind of work attire but it wasn’t very young, or fresh. It just felt very uninspiring and there wasn’t an awful lot of colour,” says Victoria.
She researched the market, speaking to the disabled community, mostly over social media, across a range of ages, sizes, even countries, and Unhidden was born as a brand specialising in universal design. Today it is an award-winning adaptive fashion brand, the first to join the British Fashion Council as a member and feature in London Fashion Week.
Different but the same
“From research, we understand that consumers want to have items that are fun, comfortable, but also that don’t really look adaptive and different. They don’t really want to even have to shop in different places. It's hard enough looking or feeling different without having to dress differently, or to constantly have to pay to alter stuff. Disability tax is very real.”
This was a real “pinch me” moment for Victoria: “Going from a hospital bed to working with Primark to put this on the high street is a really big deal.”
And the success continues. Beyond the Primark launch, Victoria will continue to develop a new Unhidden collection, expanding the range, and moving into kids’ clothes. “There's plenty to look forward to!”
