Bringing the Adaptive Apparel Resource Guide to Life: The Process of Research, Connectivity, and Building Community Through Human-Centered Design

Abstract

“The Adaptive Clothing Resource Guide” is the result of a collaborative experience between Vanderbilt's Wond'ry Center for Innovation, Fashion is for Every Body, and community partners. This example may be used as a roadmap for how design education and process may be aligned with broader goals of equality and social justice. Creating the guide provided the opportunity for disabled individuals to partner with community advocates, design and clothing industry experts, students, and brands. These partnerships both educated others about the challenges the disabled community faces and amplified disabled voices. While disabled peers collaborated about clothing enhancements for multiple solutions, designers, students and brands could hear firsthand how garment solutions may improve the life of the person wearing the garment. Partnering with such a diverse group of contributors enabled empathy in human-centered design. The design outcome from these engagements provides solutions not only for the disabled community, but for the greater community of humankind.