At a recent International Textile and Apparel Association’s (ITAA) annual conference Jin Su’s and Melanie Carrico’s curiosity was piqued. A keynote speaker from Zappos Adaptive opened their eyes to an apparel industry largely overlooked for a long time.  

Now part of a growing special interest group around adaptive apparel, Su and Carrico are introducing students to the adaptive apparel industry with merchandising and design courses specifically for the people with disabilities (PWD) market in UNC Greensboro’s Department of Consumer, Apparel, and Retail Studies (CARS) at the Bryan School.  

“Educators need to keep up with industry development and trends,” says Su. “I want students to know they can design and merchandise for this population and thus extend their future career opportunities.”  

In that vein, Su and Carrico earned a three-year $300,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture grant for their project, “Building Adaptive Apparel Competencies into the Higher Education Curriculum,” with partners from the University of Alabama (UA). The project is in full swing now.  

“Disability is one minority group that any of us could find ourselves in as a temporary or permanent member,” says Carrico. “Typical mass clothing off the rack doesn’t always work.”  

Developing Adaptive Apparel Curriculum  

Although the “adaptive apparel market for PWD could reach over $400 billion globally by 2027” according to Su’s research, the apparel needs and wants of PWD have been overlooked in not only the apparel industry but also in college curriculum for apparel merchandising and design.  

In partnership with their UA counterparts, Su and Carrico look to change that. 

They developed a series of five learning modules to help students understand the adaptive apparel market, the PWD community and consumers, and their unique needs and challenges.  

This subject matter is not normally covered in the college curriculum. Students typically design for the mass consumer market. Su and Carrico collected literature, videos, and blogs on the adaptive apparel market for student resources.  

“It is important to give students resources because this community was overlooked by industry and by academia,” says Su.  

Customized Designs for the PWD Consumer   

Carrico currently teaches Fashion Studio 3 with 15 junior CARS students, in which students are designing clothing for three PWD community participants.  

Her goal is “to have students get to know the participants’ needs and design with them, for them and learn what they can about clothing that is more acceptable for PWD,” says Carrico.  

Carrico contacted the Greensboro Disability Advocacy Center to secure the three participants. Students participated in lectures on the adaptive apparel industry and PWD dressing needs before meeting the participants. 

When students met with PWD participants, they inquired about challenges with their current clothing and what changes they would like to see.  

“I was impressed with how students interviewed the participants – how thoughtful their questions were and what they were considering in their discussions,” says Carrico. “They produced creative ideas for each participant.”  

Five students made designs for one participant. The participants selected their favorites, and the student designer took measurements. Students made “muslins,” or prototypes with a lesser quality fabric, so they can test fit, make marks, and draw lines. Once they receive feedback, the next step is to cut the good fabric to make the final garment.  

“Hopefully, the students are making getting dressed and undressed and just being in the clothes easier and more comfortable for the PWD consumer,” says Carrico.  

Considering Client Challenges   

Before taking Carrico’s class, CARS third-year Jacey Ward was not familiar with the adaptive apparel industry. 

“I gained insight into the struggle PWDs experience with regular clothing, which is something I had not thought about before,” says Ward. “I also learned how to properly speak about PWD by using inclusive language.” 

Ward learned that buttons, pockets, thick seams, and zippers on clothing do not work for everyone. Alternative options, like magnets, Velcro, pocket placement, opening seams and even different materials and fabrics can make dressing easier for PWDs.  

“Considering how to construct a garment with magnets was a challenge,” confesses Ward. “I also had to really think through issues my client might face, which took extra time during design.”  

Ward confirms participation in this course “greatly increased my awareness of the lack of adaptive apparel in our industry.”  

Marketing to the PWD Consumer  

Where Carrico’s class covers design, Su’s Advanced Retail Analysis class covers merchandising and marketing. 

In Su’s class, students developed a consumer profile for the PWD community, created business plans, and developed social media strategies.  

“This is new for merchandising students as previously they only developed merchandising plans for mass market,” says Su. Students quickly realized that they had not thought too much about this potentially huge market.  

CARS fourth-year Sophie Macon participated in Su’s class this past spring. Like Ward, she was not familiar with the adaptive apparel industry when starting the course and was unaware of how many people are affected by and can benefit from adaptive apparel.  

“There is so much to learn about adaptive apparel – from the products to merchandising and marketing,” says Macon. “When studying apparel, we usually just consider ourselves as the target consumers. This course forced students to consider others and therefore pushed our creativity.” 

Raising Adaptive Apparel Awareness   

Part of the grant’s charge is to disseminate the adaptive apparel industry learning modules, which Su, Carrico, and their partners will make happen. 

Both are conducting research which they presented at the 2023 ITAA Annual Conference and will present in the upcoming 2024 ITAA conference. They hope to publish it soon.  

“We want to present our research and disseminate our knowledge about adaptive apparel to other educators and scholars in hopes of raising awareness,” says Su. “This is a long-term effort.” 

Story written by Amy Burtch, AMBCopy LLC   
Photography provided by Mike Micciche