People who have a disability are generally thought of as a niche market
within the fashion industry. Yet, a study which was led by Nottingham Trent
University (NTU) lecturer Julian Wing has proven that this market holds a
lot of potential for growth.
“Disabled people are not accepted in many areas of mainstream fashion,”
believes Wing, who is connected to NTU´s school of Art & Design. “It is a
world of perfection and beauty, and disabled people are largely left out of
the marketing and promotion campaigns of big brands.” However, Wing
believes that this is a missed chance. “With a population of 1.1 billion,
people with disabilities are an emerging market equal to the size of
China.”
According to Wing, the combination of aging populations and increasing
life expectancies of people who are disabled means that this segment will
become increasingly important in the future. He also believes that advances
in technology, such as 3D-printing, provides fashion brands with the
opportunity to create customised products for people with a disability.
Furthermore, he thinks that these advances will make it less expensive to
create well-fitting items for disabled people.
Wing acknowledges that there are a number of companies which currently
create apparel for disabled people, but notes the problem with most of
these companies is that they solely pay attention to the technical side of
clothing, whilst losing sight of the latest fashion trends.
The study that Wing carried out consisted of a literature review of
existing research in combination with comments from disabled people.
Additionally, he could draw on his own experiences from participating in
the Awear project: an initiative to bring retailers and disabled people
together.
“There is a distinct lack of research in the area and one of my
recommendations is that more work needs to be done. I am proposing to
undertake some research in 2016 to speak with disabled people to get their
view on access to the right fashion products, levels of customer service
and satisfaction and the potential of customization and collaboration in
the development of fashion products,” said Wing.
Image credit: Spd.org