Tommy Hilfiger unveils innovative clothing line for people with disabilities
Tommy Hilfiger is expanding its innovative disability-friendly clothing initiative by unveiling Tommy Adaptive, a new line that includes a variety of new and stylish pieces.
In 2016, Tommy Hilfiger partnered with Runway of Dreams, a nonprofit founded by Mindy Scheier, a mother whose child has muscular dystrophy, to create a clothing line more inclusive to children with disabilities. Last year the company expanded it to include an adult collection, and now, the company strives to provide all people with disabilities with even more clothing options.
"Tommy Adaptive's mission is to be inclusive and empower people of all abilities to express themselves through fashion," the company said in a press release.
The line includes the essential fashion pieces like shirts, pants, shorts, dresses, and jackets — but Tommy Adaptive clothes are easier to put on. Modifications such as adjustable hems, one-handed zippers, side-seam openings, bungee cord closure systems, adjustable waists, and magnetic buttons and velcro make the fashionable designs much more disability friendly. Some shirts are even made with easy-open necklines and expanded back openings.
The campaign to showcase the Adaptive clothing includes several prominent figures in the disability community, such as 18-year-old autistic chef Jeremiah Josey; Chelsie Hill, a dancer who uses a wheelchair; Paralympic track-and-field gold medalist Jeremy Campbell; and blogger and motivational speaker Mama Cax, who has a prosthetic leg.
According to Elle, Tommy Hilfiger heavily considered feedback from the disability community when creating the new line, and was sure to make significant improvements from its first line after customer feedback.
In the past, other companies like Target — which launched the Cat & Jack children's clothing line for children with disabilities in 2017 and has since expanded its Universal Thread women's line to be more disability friendly — are working to make the fashion industry more inclusive.
The Tommy Adaptive collection, which was released Tuesday, is now available for purchase online.
Topics Activism Social Good Innovations
Nicole is a Senior Editor at Mashable. She primarily covers entertainment and digital culture trends, and in her free time she can be found watching TV, sending voice notes, or going viral on Twitter for admiring knitwear. You can follow her on Twitter @nicolemichele5.
