Disability,the Senses and Apparel: Design Considerations

Sensory experiences are an important but infrequently explored aspect of clothing and apparel for people living with disabilities. Clothing serves as a type of ‘gate keeper’ to the social realm, especially for people living with disabilities. Newly emerging inclusive design approaches are increasingly addressing issues of accessibility and adaptability in the built environment, and these design approaches can and should be applied to clothing and apparel. Two broad categories of interest include: (1) Overwhelming or “too much” sensation, in other words, situations in which people would like to lessen the intensity of what they feel and (2) Limited sensation, lack of sensation, or circumstances under which people crave sensory input, but are restricted from feeling due to a variety of (typically medical or neurological) reasons. The lack of suitable apparel can become a genuine barrier for people living with disabilities, exposing them to the risk of a marginalized status, preventing them from fully participating in society. These barriers illustrate how the work of anthropologists, apparel, textile and engineering design teams with knowledge of sensory issues can offer options to those seeking to regulate the type and intensity of sensory experience and make a positive impact on their daily lives.