Fashion show with a difference

Well that’s what the inaugural fashion event Inclusion Dans La Mode (IDLM) is all about. Fashion inclusion.

It is a historic and novel collaboration between the National Centre for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD) and the Trinidad and Tobago Medical Association - Central Branch (TT MA-CB). The fund-raising event will be introducing Adaptive Clothing for persons with disabilities: comfort, style, functionality and new market opportunities.

It takes place on October 2 from 2 pm to 5 pm at Oasis Garden Terrace, 101 Circular Road, San Fernando.

Adaptive clothing is clothing designed specifically for persons with various types of disabilities as well as limited mobility, the elderly, and people who may otherwise experience difficulty, long-term or shortterm, in dressing themselves due to an inability to manipulate closures, such as buttons and zippers, or due to a lack of a full range of motion required for self-dressing; or who may have sensory issues that may require special textile treatments and design adaptations.

Children and adults with various types of disabilities will take the runway alongside well-known, local professional models, showcasing their capabilities.

Richard Young is the event’s creative director while other collaborations include the Caribbean Academy of Fashion Design (CAFD) of the University of Trinidad and Tobago. Sheree Welch, treasurer of the board of directors of National Centre for Persons with Disabilities told Newsday: “We’re introducing locally-designed, adaptive clothing designed by top local designers like Harvey Robertson, CAFD Student of the Year 2016 and Natasha Athara, a top designer and graduate of CAFD, with physical disabilities. “The event can change the lives of persons with disabilities and fashion designers who seek to become entrepreneurs because this is not the average fashion show.

We are really doing something novel to educate persons about an untapped market and to sensitise our nation about persons with disabilities and their capabilities.”