‘Ad-Dress Now’ unveils adaptive clothing in some really cool designs

Budding designers showcased their latest designs at the ‘Ad-Dress Now’ event in Pune. Held by Ekansh Trust, organisers hope that this event will encourage mainstream designers and fashion brands to introduce adaptive clothing into the market.

Adaptive clothing is definitely catching up in the fashion world, and will soon be the next big thing on the Indian fashion scene. The finale of Ad-Dress Now in Pune showcased some incredible wear all modelled by people with disabilities. Fifteen teams came up with some unique and distinctive collections and the stage positively glowed with excitement as wheelchair users showcased their charisma and style in apparels customised to their body needs and requirements.

Organised by Pune-based Ekansh Trust, ‘Ad-Dress Now’ is a first-of-its-kind event in India. Aspiring fashion designing students from renowned colleges and established designers from across India took part in the event. Participants had to send in their sketches and 15 teams were shortlisted from the 50 teams that applied.

Anita Iyer, Founder of Ekansh Trust says that she wants adaptive clothing designs available to disabled community in India, without any fuss or hassle.

People with disabilities must be able to comfortably wear what they feel like. You will not find a person with a disability attending fashion events because nothing inclusive is created for them at such events and this is clear violation of basic rights. We wanted to create a platform for community members to come together and think out of the box. It is high time that the society also pitches in when it comes to adaptive clothing. – Anita Iyer, Founder, Ekansh Trust.

Geeta Castelino, Raju Bhatia, Rohit Kamra,Nivedita Saboo and Arry Dabbas, some prominent names from the industry, were also part of the event. “Creating funds for the event was a huge task for us”, says Anita. “People just came forward and helped us and most of them did not even charge us a penny. Since this was for a good cause, we had ample support. People from across India took part in the event”.

Sunita Sanchiti, a well-known disability rights activist known for her elegant style, was among the participants.

“It was a wonderful experience. Every disabled person would want to dress according to their body requirements but unfortunately, nothing substantial has been introduced in the market for us. Adaptive clothing must be taken as a subject in fashion designing colleges so that more budding designers know about our needs and requirements”, says Sunita.

The efforts of Ekansh Foundation definitely gets a thumbs up. More organisations and fashion brands can take cue from such events to promote adaptive clothing which can create quite an impact on the fashion industry.

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