Australian fashion designer Rachel Shugg is calling on the apparel industry to create more accessible styles for marginalised bodies.
Speaking with Ragtrader, the RMIT fashion graduate said the industry needs to stop pushing fast fashion and adopt a slower design approach towards garment design for people with disabilities.
“An empathy driven approach can consider the needs and wants for a large group of people and highlight the importance of inclusivity and diversity within the fashion industry,” Shugg said.
“Where we value the importance of lived experiences, whilst also warning of the consequences if we don't embrace universal design.”
Shugg said that in order for the fashion industry to change properly, it requires a multifaceted approach.
“It can't just be tokenistic,” she said. “The change needs to happen at every stage.
“It needs to be behind the camera, in the board meetings, in the designer's concept sketches, in workers wages.
“It needs to happen in our education as well,” Shugg continued. “I only graduated from my honors last year, and I wasn't taught anything about it.”
"We need to start teaching people about disabilities and marginalised bodies - and that goes for every marginalized body, not just disabled bodies."
Shugg went on to say that there is growing demand among disabled people who are looking for fashionable and accessible clothing.
According to the ABS, there were 4.4 million Australians with disability in 2018, making up 17.7% of the population.
“The demand is there,” she said. “The demand has been there for a long time, and the fashion industry is slowly starting to recognize that.
"We have such amazing labels like Jam the Label, who I'm currently working for, and Christina Stevens and EveryHuman. Retail businesses like that are starting to recognize that there is a demand.
"From the peers and people that I talk to, they've certainly expressed the need. I think it's just about getting everybody else to understand."
Part of this call out by Shugg (pictured) includes giving people more than just functionality in their clothing purchases.
“Often, when we see accessible fashion or adaptive fashion, we often think about it in terms of functional clothing,” Shugg continued.
“We don't really consider how that brings into the personal identity of the person and how they would express themselves through style.
“It's certainly something that I've encountered, as a disabled fashion designer, trying to find clothes that actually bring and express the joy of my identity and my love for clothes."
Through her work at Jam the Label and her residency at RMIT Situate, the 22-year-old continues to develop design concepts that improve garment accessibility for a variety of disabilities.
“I do that by considering what exactly a person would need,” Shugg explained.
“For example, a wheelchair user might need an altered hem or perhaps straps on their pants.
“Somebody with limited dexterity might need magnets instead of buttons, or somebody who doesn't have a limb - or perhaps has limb difference - might need a top that allows them to put it on with only the use of one hand.
In terms of her design principles, Shugg uses magnets, flat seams and soft fabrics to cater to various disabilities.
“I try to establish this connection through clothing and create positive experiences that connect the wearer’s Self and their body, whilst also commenting on the fashion industry’s prolonged refusal to accept disabled bodies.”