Fashioning Inclusivity

July is Disability Pride Month, a worldwide celebration of people with disabilities and their contribution to society. Three designers talk to Tatler about how they are creating a more accessible world through fashion

- By Madeleine Mak

When you think of functional clothing, the first thing to come to mind might be performance-optimised sportswear. For people with physical, mental or intellectual disabilities, however, “functionality” can have a far higher bar: clothing designed for a specific need that allows them to move through life more easily.

Enter the world of adaptive fashion. Unlike garments created to speak to the latest consumer trends or to reflect a creative director's vision, adaptive fashion puts the unique medical needs of its wearer at the centre of the design process. Even if two people share the same diagnosis, their experiences are not identical, so garments in this category tend to be hyper-personalised.

A 2023 United Nations Development Programme report suggests that there are more than a billion people with disabilities in the world, and about 700 million of them live in Asia and the Pacific. The region accounts for 23 per cent of the global adaptive fashion market, according to a 2025 study by Cognitive Market Research—a number that will only increase.

Tatler speaks to three Asian designers of adaptive fashion who are proof that the future of inclusive fashion design is bright.

DESTINY PINTO, BY DESTINY PINTO