Michelle Chung

How did you first come up with the idea for this work?
I’ve been researching fashion inclusivity since the beginning of 2021. It all started with me asking people on social media to fill out a survey that explored people’s relationships with their clothing and with shopping. I received an overwhelming response, especially from those within the plus-sized and disabled community. People poured their hearts out to me, and reading their heartfelt responses in the additional comments section of my surveys fueled me to want to make a difference in the fashion industry. My north star from then on has been to create change within the fashion industry so that everyone has access to clothing that makes them feel both comfortable and confident.

What was your research process like?
As I mentioned before, it initially started with surveys. This led to me asking those around me in my communities in person and online to share their experiences more in-depth. Over the years, I’ve scoured the resources provided by FIT and the internet to research all that there was on adaptive fashion. In the beginning, I was especially reading a lot of research papers on ResearchGate and comparing that to the adaptive fashion available on the market and the specific clothing needs people were sharing that they had.

How long did you work on this before it was published?
~2.5 years on the research, 5 months on writing and designing the book.

Does this work relate to your role at FIT? If so, how?
My experience at FIT provided me with a foundational understanding of garment structure, allowing me to branch out and learn how things can be changed or adapted to suit those in the disabled community after I finished my fashion design AAS degree.

What was your biggest challenge? What was most rewarding?
The biggest challenge is determining the level of depth in which to describe things. Although this book was written to provide a resource to fashion industry professionals and fashion students, it was crucial to me that all the terminology that I used was incredibly accessible so that even someone with minimal garment construction knowledge would be able to understand the contents of the book. The adaptive fashion industry has been incredibly daunting for so many people because of two main reasons. First, there aren’t resources comprehensively covering adaptive fashion as a whole the way All About Adaptive does. Secondly, the available resources use a lot of jargon, which serves as a barrier to those who aren’t familiar but are curious to learn more. The most rewarding part of this book release has been how many people have expressed that this has been a valuable resource for them. Especially those who are either disabled themselves or parents of children with disabilities. The fact that parents with no fashion background have been able to benefit from this book while universities are also finding it to be a great resource is a signal to me that I was able to effectively communicate what’s available in the adaptive fashion market in an accessible manner.

Is there other information we should know?
The future of fashion is inclusive and adaptive! Everyone deserves access to clothing that makes them feel comfortable and confident. It’s amazing to see institutions like FIT start to recognize this and implement more inclusive and adaptive practices slowly but surely.

• Graduated in 2022
• Book published on August 23, 2024