Fashions Fit to Delight Disabled Children
Rosie Hall at the fashion shoot with (left to right) Chloe Lomax,aged nine, and Sophie Taylor, 11, wearing her designs
Rosie Hall
Rosie Hall is on the final year of the BA (Hons) Fashion Studies degree course, and has decided to use the skills she has gained from her time here at
The inspiration behind the designs comes from Rosie's volunteer role with the local charity Umbrella, which runs projects for disabled children and teenagers.
Limited mobility and other problems related to their disability can make it difficult for children and teenagers to find clothes which fit properly and are fashionable. Rosie's Adaptive Clothing range makes things easier for the wearer. For example, traditional buttons are replaced with less fiddly Velcro or magnetic fastenings and trouser pockets are positioned further down the leg so a person in a wheelchair can easily access them.
Racketys of Leek in Staffordshire, which makes clothing for adults and children with disabilities, advised Rosie on her project; as did children at Umbrella.
Rosie, originally from Croxden near Uttoxeter, said: "I came up with four designs aimed at girls aged around eight. The aim was for the clothing to allow them to be more independent, so they could dress themselves, and also be fashionable."
"I thought of things like having an extra fastening at waist height to accommodate use of a feeding tube and making the clothes warm, because of the circulation problems some disabled children have. The designs are also what we call 'on trend', using the military emblems that are popular in mainstream fashions right now.
"It has been a really interesting project."
Rosie thanked the Umbrella charity for their help with her project by setting up a mini-fashion shoot for its children, complete with photographs by professional commercial photographer and
An Umbrella spokeswoman said: "Rosie put a lot of thought into the type of clothing she designed and took into account the children's needs. All the girls loved the clothes and enjoyed working with Rosie, who has highlighted an area that needs to be progressed and marketed."
Fiona Hawthorne, of the University's Fashion Studies course, added: "Fashion should be for everyone. Rosie has shown real ingenuity in thinking about the day-to-day difficulties these children face and designed around those, to create clothing they will actually want to wear."
