August 30, 2019
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 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 universal designs to be used by the disabled community in
India, without any fuss or hassle.
A disabled person must be able to comfortably wear what they feel like. You
will not find person with a disability attending fashion events because
nothing exclusive 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,
Nivedita Saboo and Arry Dabbas, were some
of the prominent designers who were part of the jury and team of advisors.
“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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