Adaptable fashion by Penneys

Talkin' the talk and walkin' the... something something

Last week I was invited to the launch of Penneys’ latest line of adaptable and affordable fashion. I’m not a fashion gal by any means, so the invite was solely because of the fact I have a thing or two to say about disability, but even at that, I feel like I’ve got just as much to say about the fashion as I do the adaptions.

Held in Penneys’ international headquarters above the Jervis Street shop, the event was moderated by Paralympic champion Ellen Keane, with Hildegarde Naughton TD, Minister of State for Disability, Dr. Shani Dhanda, Accessibility Specialist and Charlie Magadah-Williams, Head of D&I at Primark speaking on the panel. Two of those people on stage had physical disabilities, and two others made reference to having temporary injuries which made them empathise with disabled people. How I wish I had someone there to roll my eyes at when that was said.

Penneys began designing their first line of adaptable fashion two years ago, with lingerie items being the first designs to hit the rails last year. This year they have added 49 new items, which you can read more about here. It was an interesting event for a number of reasons:

1. The availability of affordable and adaptable clothing in somewhere as accessible as Penneys is huge

2. The mainstreaming of conversations like this highlights the various needs of disabled or chronically ill people, which is reflected in the different features in the various items in the new line

3. Fashion is a political thing, and despite having an actual minister on the panel, a PR event will never be political