Kimiko Sugino
Associate professor, Tokyo Kasei University
Director, Japan Universal Fashion Association

What is universal fashion?

Do you know the term “universal fashion”? Universal fashion is an ideology and a movement that aims to create a society in which everyone can enjoy fashion, regardless of age, size, gender, or whether or not they have a disability. That society is one in which older people or people with disabilities can obtain the clothes they want to wear, and which are easy for them to wear, without any difficulty. It is not the society of the “Size 9 Myth”, in which only young, slender women can enjoy fashion.

The Japan Universal Fashion Association began its activities in 1999 as a non-profit group, aiming to become a bridge between elderly or disabled people and the fashion world. It has been recognized as an incorporated non-profit organisation since 2001.

The fashion environment for people with disabilities

I came across universal fashion around 1998. At that time, I was surveying older women about their body types and carrying out research into patterns which suited these. At the same time, I was exchanging thoughts and ideas with researchers looking at the creation of clothes for and the environment surrounding people with disabilities. In the course of these activities, I had the opportunity to hear directly from wheelchair users. The words which left a great impression on me were “I want to wear normal clothes”. This person said that hanging on hangers the skirts and other clothes which had been adjusted to fit her individual disabilities as a wheelchair user felt hard, because this forced her to face once again the fact that she had lost her ability to walk in an accident. However, she was unable to share her true feelings with the people who stood with her to confront her disability and design and create comfortable, attractive clothes. I also learned about other situations, such as one in which a woman’s parents bought cute clothes that would normally be worn by a younger girl, and which did not fit with her own tastes. However, since she needed her parents to help her put them on, she could not tell them what kind of clothes she would like to wear. It could be said that people with disabilities were holding back their true wishes because they needed assistance, and that this was not an environment in which they could enjoy fashion.

20 years or so have passed since then. Has the environment changed to become one in which people with disabilities can wear the clothes they want? When the official uniforms and sportswear for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games were announced, behind-the-scenes tales about how they were created and the opinions of the athletes were shared on the Internet. What caught my attention was a survey by a sportswear manufacturer in which many Paralympic athletes at the Rio Games (2016) said things like “I want to wear the same as everyone else”, or “A cool design would be good”. Does this mean that fashion for people with disabilities has not changed much in the last 20 or so years? However, the fact that people with disabilities have become able to tell those around them what kind of clothes they would like to wear, and that the companies manufacturing them are making the effort to ask them about their wishes, are major changes. We could say that we are drawing closer to the society which is the goal of universal fashion.

I would like to introduce an example of a change to society made by people with disabilities themselves. Due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, fashion items are often introduced on social media. Almost all of the close-up shots of models showed them in standing poses. When wheelchair users posted their wishes to see seated photographs using the hashtag “#seated style”, photographs in seated poses began to be uploaded to social media, not only by companies but also by individuals. This shows us that “#seated style” was information needed by many people, regardless of whether or not they had a disability, since we spend the majority of their day sitting on a chair. The official Instagram account of the department in which I work also posts “#seated style” photographs introducing students’ work . Since the pattern may look different when the wearer is standing and sitting, depending on the design, this was a learning opportunity allowing students to notice the difference.

 Photo 1: An example of “#seated style” posted on SNS

Technological innovations in fashion

Remarkable advances are currently being made in the fashion industry, such as high-performance fibres (insulation properties, stretch, etc.) and processing technologies (crease proofing, etc.). Probably not a day goes by without wearing clothes incorporating these advances. In particular, the stretch fabrics which have come to be used in sportswear expand and contract along with people’s movements, and so it is extremely easy to move in them. These stretch fabrics are now also used in suits, blouses, trousers, and more.

Even if the fabric itself is not stretchable, it is possible to give it stretch properties by processing it. This is known as pleating. In general, people may think of the skirts of high school girls’ uniforms when they hear “pleats”. For this reason, most people probably think that pleats only stretch in a particular direction. However, processing technologies have improved, and pleats which stretch freely in every direction (“graphic pleats”) now exist. Since clothes which have had graphic pleats added stretch to fit the individual body type of the wearer, there is no need to be concerned about size, such as a slightly thick waist. And more than anything, they stretch in all directions, so they do not restrict the wearer’s physical movements. These items were not originally designed with an awareness of universal fashion. When such items were supplied to a fashion show for older people, the older women who wore them evaluated them highly, as “light”, “comfortable”, “easy to move in”, and so on. The designer was apparently surprised to find that the items created also pleased older wearers. These items are currently branded for women, but they could also be adapted for men by changing the colours and designs . Through technological innovations in fashion, even more universal, wonderful clothes will probably continue to be offered to everyone, irrespective of age, size, gender, or disability.  

 Photo 2: A jacket with graphic pleats added

Allowing many people to enjoy fashion

At the Japan Universal Fashion Association, we aim not only to develop universal items, but also to create universal sales venues. One of the points which need improvement is fitting rooms. Unfortunately, the number of fitting rooms with enough space to enter in a wheelchair and try on clothes is currently still very small. If there were more fitting rooms which could be used in a wheelchair, babies in strollers or small children could also go in, so I think they would also be good fitting rooms for mothers with young children, allowing them to try on clothes without worry.

Now that a social environment which listens to people with disabilities is in the process of being created, I would like to encourage all of you with disabilities to raise your voices and give us your opinions about how you can enjoy fashion. Sharing your thoughts in this way will make not only people with disabilities but also many other people happier.