Clothes Encounters

A Fashion First for Wheelchair Users

By Barbara Turnball

This Toronto store for "seated clientele" is designed to make clothes shopping simple.

Izzy Camilleri felt that she was “all thumbs” the first time a client using a wheelchair approached her for one of her famous leather designs eight years ago.

Though long considered an icon of Canadian fashion and haute couture, and despite having made clothes for international stars like Meryl Streep, Camilleri admits that designing around a wheelchair was something that she had never considered—and it made her a little nervous.

But she faced the task head on and, through word-of-mouth, began designing custom clothing for several clients with disabilities. She quickly realized that fashion-forward clothes were virtually nonexistent for people using wheelchairs, and she spent years conceptualizing and creating a line of adaptable clothing. In 2009, she launched the line, which she unveiled and continues to sell through her website, izadaptive.com. (Abilities’ covered the web launch. Check out the story at (abilities.ca/fashionforward).

Now, Camilleri’s taken adaptive clothing a step further by opening the world’s first store completely devoted to fashions for “seated clientele.” IZ Adaptive—where authoritative function meets unparalleled fashion for wheelchair-users—opened its doors in Toronto this past May.

The 800-square-foot retail space, at 2955B Dundas St. West, is a place where shoppers can see and feel the garments, as well as try the items on. While some stock is available in the store, much of it still needs to be ordered. Camilleri provides such a wide range of sizes (from 4 to 22) that carrying enough stock is a venture she can’t afford quite yet. “I think that there is an understanding that I am growing this from nothing, and I need to do what I have to do to make it work,” Camilleri says. “I know that is understood and appreciated.”

Plans are already in the works to have more stock available on hand. Jeans are a big seller and Camilleri hopes to provide various sizes in the store by the fall. In the meantime, purchasing clothing is not a problem. IZ Adaptive has a back studio with two rows of sewing machines that are used to produce the custom clothes that clients order. She can even recreate items that can’t be sourced elsewhere anymore.

The retail space out front is fresh, contemporary and easy to get around in. Instead of being cluttered with clothing racks, pull-out wardrobes and drawers leave space for wheelchair users. The fitting room is large enough for a person in a wheelchair and assistants to be comfortable.

That the population of people with disabilities has been ignored by the fashion industry solidifies Camilleri’s commitment to IZ Adaptive. “This gives me more satisfaction than anything I’ve done in the business before,” she says. In addition to being great for shoppers, the store will help Camilleri to continually improve her line. “I think that it’s important to see clients one-on-one,” she says of her decision to open a mortar-and-bricks store in addition to a virtual version. “I’m forever gathering people’s thoughts and issues with clothes.”

Peruse her line of modern and sophisticated tops, pants, suits, coats, skirts, dresses, knits, evening and bridal wear and you’ll seejust how much “gathering” she has done. The pieces, for men and women, are cut to follow the line of the seated body, with strategic zipper placement to accommodate specific needs. Excess fabric that would bunch on an item made for an able-bodied person is eliminated to create not only a better aesthetic, but also comfort and ease on the skin. Her trench coat is a knockout, as are her leather jackets and capes.

Camilleri’s prices are comparable to what you’d find in a mainstream clothing shop—and sometimes less. For example, pants range from $40 to $70, tops from $25 to $55 and bridal gowns are less than $400. As demand grows, the clothes will be manufactured overseas so that prices can come down even further.

Down the line, Camilleri would like to open stores across Canada. She also envisions adding a children’s line, a well as shoes and lingerie. But for now, shoppers can look forward to new designs each season.

“I think that there is something for everybody, and shoppers can also personalize [pieces] by colour or style,” says Camilleri. “It’s an opportunity for people to buy these clothes and feel that they look like everybody else, and not forced to wear clothes that are merely there for function.”

Barbara Turnbull is a Toronto-based journalist who had a spinal cord injury in 1983. She was Izzy Camilleri’s first “seated” client.