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An Adaptive Apparel Line
The line name Wild & Free was inspired by Julie’s uninhibited spirit and her love for horses. Julie is an inspiration to us all through her can-do attitude and the goal for this line is to empower people with disabilities to live unencumbered.
FEA Consumer Needs Persona
From the interview with our 11-year-old female user born with a limb difference (truncated forearm), the main needs they identified were different sleeve lengths, well-fitting clothes that are not too tight, and adaptive closures. Currently, the users in this target market wear mass-market activewear, and her mother and grandmother hem the right sleeve to provide a better fit. She also utilizes her parents to help her tie her shoes and fasten her clothing. In this apparel line, we plan to provide solutions for independent dressing for our user by creating different sleeve lengths, utilizing magnetic closures for ease of donning and doffing, we plan to use elastic so the garments sit at the right places on the body, and designing loose-fitting garments with appropriate-sized armholes (not oversized).
Inspiration Board
This is the inspiration for an Adaptive Apparel Line for our user, Julie. She loves horses, blues, and adaptive closures. Our user likes elastic at garment openings and dry-fit materials. When asked if she could decorate her room in anything she wanted, she said horses without hesitation. Julie also likes loose-fitting clothes and round necklines. With all of these aesthetics in mind, the apparel line with have a focus on practice and performance wear for Track and Field. Click the button below to download the pdf version of the inspo board and click on the image descriptions to view the sources of the images.
Initial Product Line Development
After meeting with our user to gain a deeper understanding of her needs and personal aesthetic, these are the initial designs we created. There are five designs total, three tops and two bottoms, all the the goal of functionality and ease of dressing. Read more about each garment through their product description on their respective slide. We will present these ideas to our user, obtain her feedback by asking what she likes and what she wishes she would have seen, and make adjustments before moving on to the next steps.
Prototype
I began creating my prototype by cutting all of my pieces to sew the garment. I serged all the edges to keep them from fraying and then sewed them all together. Using knit fabric was the trickiest part of sewing the garment. I ran into the challenge of the right sleeve length after completing the sewing. My calculations for it were off and it would be too long. I used my knowledge from my Tech Design Internship and used pins to make the correct sleeve length and noted the changes I made so I could make them after fitting with Julie. I met with Julie and she loved the jacket. It fit perfectly! Her only critique was the same as mine was that the right sleeve was too long. It was the perfect length with my pins.
Final Garment
I updated the right sleeve pattern to reflect the length of it when it was pinned. I then tore off the old sleeve and re-sewed it on to the jacket. To reduce waste, I used all of the other pieces of my prototype for the final garment, and just adjusted the sleeve to finish the garment. (Seen in these photos are my partner, Mira's, adaptive shorts for our user Julie)
CLO 3D & Technical Package
Using CLO 3D, I rendered my garment using the existing patterns I had from my physical jacket. Within the software, I created 4 different colorways, added points of measure, and was able to build a TP. I was also able to adjust the avatar size based on the measurements of my user. Using CLO and being able to have an avatar that reflected my user was really beneficial to see how the garment would fit without direct access to Julie. By clicking the button below, you can download this garment's Tech Pack that was made using CLO-SET.
College Super Fan & College Vault Collections
During the fall 2023 semester, I was very lucky to participate in the Mizzou x Champion student competition. There were two phases to this, Phase 1: College Super Fan and Phase 2: Collge Vault. For the college super fan collection, my group had to do trend research for the Fall of 2024 and come up with new silhouettes we suggest Champion should incorporate in their upcoming College Super Fan Line. I designed the gold, women's short sleeve quarter zip and the unisex windbreaker with rib shoulder insets. For the College Cault Collection, we were tasked to come up with graphics using Mizzou vintage marks. I designed the women's collection and the Mizzou Wheelchair Basketball graphic. We could incorporate a few silhouettes from our Phase 1 collection, and I chose to include the quarterzip. We presented this to the Champion team and Mizzou Store members, where they voted on designs that would be bought and sold in the store in the Fall of 2024. My team got second place, and two of my designs (the one seen on the quarter zip (this graphic will be sold on a different silhouette) and the Women's Tri Fleece Crew) will be able for purchase this upcoming year.