Caron Mcluckie

In January 2016, our lives changed forever. One Saturday afternoon while out with my son Emile, he suffered a spinal cord stroke, just like that, with no warning! The spinal stroke left him paralyzed from the chest down. I was amazed at how well Emile coped with this traumatic event; his resilience was astounding. Emile has no bladder or bowel function, and he must self-catheterize to empty his bladder. It soon became clear once we got into our daily routine that clothes do not fit properly while sitting in the wheelchair. More importantly, the comfortable joggers (trousers) that Emile likes to wear do not provide easy access to catheterize.

The Idea!
I researched and spoke to a range of people including wheelchair users, caregivers, physiotherapists, and occupational therapists to find out the issues they faced when getting dressed or supporting someone getting dressed. With this research, and my own experience with Emile, I approached The Fashion Institute at Manchester Metropolitan University. In conjunction with the Stroke Association, they had been researching the difficulties stroke survivors face when trying to find suitable clothes when they return to work. Students Rebecca and Melissa Everett were excited by my idea of fly front opening joggers, and they wanted to make a prototype.

The Product: adaptive joggers/trousers
Bespoke joggers with a unique opening to enable comfortable dressing and catheterizing are higher at the back to avoid sagging while sitting and transferring to ensure everything is covered! I have been working with a small focus group of people, who range from having a spinal cord injury in adulthood to people who were born with cerebral palsy. We identified that there is a difference in muscle mass in the legs for people who cannot weight bear or have been spinal injured for a long time and lost muscle mass over the years. Therefore, we are redesigning the joggers to have a slim fit leg (which is fashionable presently) and we will also have a regular fit for people with more muscle mass on their legs, to ensure a better fit for different disabilities and all shapes and sizes.  A small run of the joggers will be made and launched in September 2021.

Testimonials
Having been a paraplegic for over 35 years, I am familiar with the search for comfortable clothing that looks and feels great but is practical for the kind of user that sits down all day. The Bealies Joggers are the holy grail of leisure wear for wheelchair users, particularly if you self-catheterize.

With the offset zip it is possible to catheterize yourself easily, without fuss. With that is the quality of materials and construction of these pants. The material used is soft and durable, the zip is large and easy to grip, the seat is manufactured with a higher back to keep you covered. There is a pocket on the front/side to keep your mobile phone where you need it. The Bealies Joggers have been well thought out, well designed and well manufactured and you should buy yourself some today. Phil, Cheshire

I wore them on Tuesday for teaching PE. They were good as they did not fall like other pants. Plus, the zip bit at the side helped when catheterizing. The leg part fit well – especially when transferring. Plus, I was able to pull them up while in the chair. I will send you a pic when I wear them again. Prob next Tuesday. Overall, I loved them. If I were to buy a pair, I would get the next size down. Andrew, Lancs

Me!
I am a mother of three children, Theo, 26, Emile, 19, and Esther, 17. We live in Stockport. I have taken early retirement from my career as a mental health social worker and felt ready for a new challenge. I believe in the product and feel that there is a gap in the market for casual wear for wheelchair users which is fashionable as well as functionable. Esther’s nickname for Emile is Bealie so I decided to name the business Bealies adaptivewear. I am passionate about supporting manufacturing in the UK because my mother was a home machinist when clothing manufacturing in the UK was strong. I will be producing the joggers in England and have identified a manufacturer in the Midlands.

Show me the money!
I have been crowdfunding to raise money to fund the first run of the joggers. I am producing a small run of the adaptive joggers to identify any problems with the product in the development stage, fine tune the patterns and materials before producing the joggers on a larger scale. The crowdfunder campaign is still live and open to pledges. https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/bealies-joggers
Adaptive clothing market   
In the UK there are approximately 1.2 million wheelchair users and 13.9 million disabled people. (Family resources survey 2016/17)    

There has been a rise of searches on the Internet for adaptive clothing. (Global fashion search Lyst 2019)
The only mainstream designer who has an adaptive range at present is Tommy Hilfiger. However, their clothes are expensive and sold as part of a designer range which is not accessible to everyone.

The disabled market is worth £249bn ($343bn). Known as the “purple pound”, they remain the largest untapped consumer market. Last year, Coresight Research even estimated the adaptive clothing market would reach $288 billion in 2019.     

The UK high street does not yet reflect this shift. Unlike the US, where a handful of mainstream stores have adaptive lines, UK retailers remain slow to enter the market. Designers must address the unmet demand for disability-friendly workwear and occasion wear as identified in the project with Manchester Metropolitan University. Marks and Spencer are selling an easy dressing range for children in stores and online and as mentioned above, Tommy Hilfiger has had some success with its inclusive, yet expensive, range of clothes each season. There is a clear market for my clothes and my business has the potential to grow.

The Future for Bealiesadaptivewear
I would like to continue to add to the collection using the template of the fly front opening to use different materials, adaptive shorts, longline t shirts and unisex pieces to be more inclusive for all disabled people. The range will model mainstream fashion and will be updated seasonally.

I want to continue to manufacture the products in the UK and would like to set up as a social enterprise and open a micro factory where we can support adults with learning and physical disabilities to learn a trade and make the joggers and other products here in the UK.

References
https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2019/dec/30/why-2019-was-a-landmark-year-for-disabled-fashion.