Nearly 10 years ago, then senior Tracy Vollbrecht attended (dis)ABLED BEAUTY, a reception for an installation highlighting adaptive fashion, at the Kent State University Museum.

Vollbrecht, an adaptive fashion consultant herself, addressed a large crowd of disabled and able-bodied individuals in Rockwell Hall’s lobby as a part of the reception for the installation of her designs at the museum.

While a student, Vollbrecht became interested in adaptive fashion–clothing made with disabled individuals in mind–when she saw the installation. Following her father’s passing, Vollbrecht was prompted to create her senior collection around adaptive fashion. Her father had Multiple Sclerosis and she drew inspiration from both his experiences and the installation. 

“So seeing these pieces, thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, these would have been so useful to my dad, so helpful,’” Vollbrecht said.

The reception started with the university’s museum director Sarah Spinner Liska introducing Vollbrecht, informing the audience of the accessible features present at the museum that night and thanking the museum staff for their efforts to make the program possible.

To make the event accessible to all, the museum had American Sign Language interpreters present during Vollbrecht’s conversation on adaptive fashion, a computer screen providing captions and braille labels for Vollbrecht’s exhibition.

After Vollbrect discussed how the museum led her to explore adaptive fashion, she asked the audience to take part in an activity to demonstrate how many people are either disabled or know someone who is.

“Pretty much everyone in this room knows someone or has a disability, and that’s because in the United States 1 in 4 have a disability, 28% of the U.S. population,” she said. “It’s not really that much of a minority.”

Following the activity, Vollbrecht pointed out that the dog clothing industry is more prominent than the adaptive fashion industry.

With this lack of prominence, the adaptive fashion industry becomes caught in a cycle of exclusion. The cycle of exclusion occurs when there are no tools available to use, like wedding dresses made for those in a wheelchair.

The lack of tools  leads to a lack of visibility because people aren’t able to see themselves wearing certain clothing items, which then leads to a lack of resources to utilize.

“Shop owners say, ‘People with disabilities don’t shop at my store. Why should I make my store accessible,’’ Vollbrecht said. “Well people with disabilities don’t shop at your store because your store isn’t accessible.”

To help adaptive fashion break free from the cycle of exclusion, two approaches of adaptive fashion have emerged. 

The first approach is adaptive design, which focuses on creating designs for disabled individuals. Contrastingly, a universal design approach focuses on creating designs meant for everyone.

Vollbrecht analyzed her past designs, including those featured in her installation, to explain to the audience how these approaches benefit those with and without disabilities and their everyday lives.

“As a whole, adaptive fashion, but really any disability improvement, accessibility improvement, does benefit everyone,” she said.

To help the audience understand the importance of adaptive fashion, Vollbrecht invited Nera Birch and Sapphire Murphy, two women with disabilities who share a love for fashion, to discuss how they interact with fashion. 

Murphy expressed how being able to wear pieces that reflect her personal style allows her to feel confident.

“A blazer in a wheelchair is the most powerful move you can have in the world,” she said.

To conclude the discussion, the three women echoed how important it is for people to support adaptive fashion. Following this, attendees were welcomed to explore the museum and enjoy light refreshments.

Attendees like Janie Rapp choose to attend the event because of her love of fashion and to support her friend, Murphy.

“I really hope people take away [Vollbrecht’s] message about adaptive fashion, and how important it is,” she said. “So many people are disabled, and inclusion is important, especially in the fashion community.”

Tricia Perry, community education specialist for the Mahoning County Board of Developmental Disabilities, said she was looking forward to having conversations with friends with disabilities about their experiences with fashion following the discussion.

“Fashion is really for everyone, and sometimes in the [developmental disabilities] world we forget what’s important to many people is also important to them,” she said. “I love this connection where there’s a way to make clothes liveable for them.”

Vollbrecht said a number of individuals approached her after her discussion with gratitude and shared their personal experiences.

“That’s the most important to spark that conversation, to get people talking, getting them to share their experiences to make fashion more inclusive,” she said.

Currently, three of Vollbrecht’s designs are on display in the first floor of the Kent State University Museum.