It all started with a question, asked in the middle of the meal, by 8-year-old Oliver. Could he too, like his friends, “To have normal jeans” ? he asks his mother, Mindy Scheier, one day. In order to create a model that suits her son, suffering from muscular dystrophy that limits his mobility and prevents him from easily handling buttons and zips, this American spends hours placing hook-and-loop strips under the seams. But the result is never fully satisfactory, and on her lunch break Mindy Scheier sometimes has to drop in to school to help Oliver open his pants in the bathroom.
In 2015, a year after launching Runway of Dreams, a foundation that fights against the invisibilization of disabled people in fashion, it is she who solicits Tommy Hilfiger. And thus will be at the origin of Tommy Adaptive, an initiative that makes the brand’s clothing accessible to customers with disabilities – an option available in France since April.
Tommy Hilfiger is in a good position to know how much “Just dressing your children in the morning can be a battle”. If he once used periphrases, the American designer now says aloud that he is the father of autistic children. “Many autistic children are hypersensitive, he testifies. They have an acute sensation of the tissues that touch their skin: certain materials seem irritating, constraining, painful to them. “
It is for them, for Oliver but also for young people in wheelchairs or wearing a prosthesis, that in the summer of 2016, Tommy Hilfiger offers in the United States a few pieces for children, cut wider to allow them to slide. without difficulty one member, with magnetic closures, hook-and-loop strips, side or back seams, welcome when putting on a t-shirt by the bust is impossible. “Seeing the incredibly positive reception of this range was a very emotional step”, admits Tommy Hilfiger, the only world-famous designer to present his work to a disabled audience.
In the colors of the brand
From the fall of 2017, he extended his project to adults and collaborated with the consulting firm Boston Consulting Group. A way both to understand the expectations of people with disabilities (today one billion in the world, including 12 million in France) and to identify the landscape of so-called adaptive fashion which is also a global business (according to the office). CMI studies, this market could exceed 323 billion euros by 2026).
“Then we worked directly with community associations or educators. It was discovered that people expected the same quality, the same style, but with subtle modifications to be easier to put on. ” That is to say scratched jeans on the side, wrap-around dresses with hidden press-studs, jogging bottoms in which interior loops are concealed. All in the brand’s colors (gray, blue, red, white), flanked by its logo and coat of arms.
Since then, Tommy Hilfiger has honed the organization. “No dedicated team, he explains. Since it’s about adapting the pieces, the designers are the same. Each season, they interact with members of test groups. Our factories have also had to adapt. Magnetic buttons on shirts, for example, first came to stick to sewing machine needles. The magnets had to be covered with cardboard and the machines with non-stick plates. “
With time, “Also with trial and error”, its teams have perfected themselves. Today, they instinctively identify the places where sewing a magnet is contraindicated because it could facilitate the tearing of a fabric, or those where one can attach a magnet. Velcro straps without the fear that it will catch a strand of hair. “We learn step by step. ” In recent months, other innovations have been added, such as flat seams and hot-pressed labels to prevent chafing; personalized cuts for people sitting in wheelchairs, people with catheters or food catheters.
If, to embody the Tommy Adaptive line, Tommy Hilfiger posed disabled athletes, from the German Kristina Vogel, paraplegic medalist in track cycling, to the Australian Rheed McCracken, paralyzed and champion of the 100 m, 200 m and 800 m in an armchair, however, the most striking promotional image dates back to the first campaign of 2016. We recognize there, white t-shirt, blue shirt and brown hair in gel, the young Oliver. All smiles.