On Monday I attended my usual Faces and Places class, where every week a guest speaker comes in to talk to us about what role they play in the fashion industry and how they got there. I've listened to a lot of great stories from these people over my time at FIT, but none more inspiring than Mindy Scheier, founder of Runway of Dreams.
Runway of Dreams started out as a non-profit organisation in 2013, educating fashion brands on the importance of creating adaptive clothing that allows less abled people to get in and out of what they wear much more easily. Fashion designer and founder of Runway of Dreams, Meg Scheier, first noticed the need for this type of clothing when her son, Oliver, who was born with Rigid Spine Muscular Dystrophy came home from school saying that all his friends would be wearing jeans to school the next day and he wanted to join in. Scheier, who couldn't face telling her son that he wouldn't be able to wear them, instead decided to adapt a pair that he already owned, making them easier for him to get in and out of himself.
This gave Scheier the idea to look in to the types of adaptations that could be made to clothes in order to help those who struggle to dress themselves. Adaptations such as opening up the ankle on tight jeans to make them easier to get on, replacing buttons with magnets for those that might struggle with tough buttons, and adding an additional openings on the back of tops to make it easier for carers to dress children were all incorporated in to her plan.
Scheier spent a whole year just researching the issue before approaching brands. She spoke to disabled children and their families to find out what the main issues were that they were facing and how best to resolve them. Scheier didn't want to create her own line as giving these people just one brand to shop from only further enhanced the exclusions they face. Instead, she went to the big names in the fashion industry to get them to collaborate with her to create a line of stylish and adaptive clothing that these kids would actually want to wear. Runway of Dreams has already collaborated with Tommy Hilfiger to create a range of children's clothing and are currently working on an adults range.
One of the things that touched me the most was when Meg was discussing the issues with patenting her idea. Explaining that it was difficult and expensive to do, she went on to say that she didn't particularly care if people did copy her idea because all she wanted was to make adaptive clothing the norm. It really showed Megs passion for the cause. For some it may be a business move, but Megs end goal is to get every brand to create an adaptive range (just like most brands these days have a plus size or petite range) and if that meant people stealing her idea then so be it.
I definitely didn't expect going in to the talk that I'd come out so inspired. Not only was Runway of Dreams such an amazing cause, but Meg herself was an amazing speaker who really caught the attention of the entire room. It just goes to show that fashion can actually make a real impact on people's lives.
Aderyn x
Photo Credit: Tommy Hilfiger
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