#lovesimple

Summary: I was honored as an Open Style Lab at Parsons School of Design Fellow for 2018.  In this program, we were tasked with designing a wearable garment for an aging person with a disability. My team’s client is a wheelchair user in a rehabilitation facility who is dressed in bed, and thus we had to accommodate for those factors in creating two garments--a jacket and skirt. With her limited range of mobility, difficulty communicating, and need for assistance in mind, we made the ensemble focusing on speed, simplicity, comfort, and easy care. The jacket was designed so that she was able to put it on herself by allowing her to put it on and take it off from the front, as she could not reach behind her.  In fact, I specifically designed the two subtle holes in the seams of the collar for her to use by putting her finger in each one to pull the jacket over her head. The skirt was designed to make it easier for caregivers to dress her in bed by being able to slide it under her rather than having to make her lift herself up, which is fatiguing for her.  Both of these garments were designed for maximizing comfort in her wheelchair--the short back on the jacket prevented excess fabric in the back gathering between her and the chair, which used to happen with her traditional jacket. The skirt was designed with pants as the back to prevent any slippage of her undergarments or any wrinkling beneath her, as the latter could cause sores. Meanwhile, we had to account for her personal desires--cleanliness, in addition to a love of art, bright colors, and elephants (with the trunk up for good luck).  For the body of the jacket, we used a bright blue (unfortunately misrepresented in the picture) stain- and wear-resistant fabric with a stretchier, light, moisture-wicking wool for the back of the jacket.  The skirt had a custom pattern on “flowy” sport lycra inspired by her relationship with her devoted husband, with comfortably conforming and odor-preventing wool for the rear of the skirt. The wool was specifically placed where she makes contact with the chair, addressing the areas where moisture and odor often accumulate. There’s also an article on the work we did this summer.