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When I was two years old, I was diagnosed with a condition called Osteogenesis Imperfecta, more commonly known as Brittle Bone Disease. This means my bones can break very easily. By the time I was 14, I had broken my legs six times.
I am 3ft 10in tall, which presents many challenges on a day-to-day basis. Yet, it’s the barriers and biases I face that disable me – not my condition itself. For example, when I was 16 years old I felt ready to enter the world of work and started applying for part-time jobs. I included one sentence in my cover letter mentioning my disability but clarifying it would not affect my ability to do the job. More than 100 applications later and absolutely zero interviews, I decided to remove that one sentence. I was offered an interview straight away. This was a hard reality check for me and made me think: ‘People are either judging disabled people before they have even met us, or they have a pre-conceived stigma that we are high risk and won’t perform as well’.
Since then I’ve devoted my professional life to breaking down accessibility barriers for disabled people and amplifying the voices of people in over-excluded groups. I developed a support platform called the Asian Disability Network and organised the first-ever Asian Woman Festival. But over the years, as I found that TV presenting opportunities grew, the issue isn’t working out what to say, but working out what to wear.
Clothing transforms and defines us. It makes us feel empowered, prepared and professional. I want to reflect my personality in the clothing choices I make. I want to feel like me. Yet I have a very limited choice when it comes to clothes that fit me and I like. Worrying about what to wear shouldn’t constantly overshadow important and once in a lifetime opportunities. But that’s my reality along with many other disabled people.
When I buy clothes, I bring them home and cut them in half or I get them tailored to fit my frame. And often, when I don’t have the time or money, I am forced to buy children’s clothing; I am forced to wear clothes designed for 5-year-olds, not 35-year-olds.
Earlier this year, I was invited to a reception at Buckingham Palace, by the then-Queen Consort to celebrate International Women’s Day. It was fabulous and I felt so honoured to be there. I had a dress specially made for the event but, due to the cold weather which exacerbates my condition, I was unable to wear it. So, I ended up meeting the future Queen wearing children’s clothes.
Having to resort to wearing ill-fitting children’s clothes is anything but dignified or empowering. Why should this be my only option? Why are there more clothing options for dogs than there are for people with disabilities?
Accessible fashion is the future.
There are one billion people on our planet that experience some kind of disability. That’s a huge amount of people who are unable to wear what they want to wear, refused the basic right of self-expression and made to feel less confident, successful and happy.
Just think of that feeling when you try something on and feel instantly transformed. You feel good and you look good – and that equals confidence. When I’ve been fortunate enough to experience that feeling, I’m ready to take on the world. If only getting there didn’t require hundreds of extra pounds in either tailoring clothes, or shopping with more expensive, adaptive clothing suppliers. Recent research has found disabled people face an extra £1,000 in unavoidable extra costs; clothing makes up a big part of this.
Much of my job is about looking presentable. I don’t have the privilege of being able to walk into a shop and come away with something straight off the rails. Not only do I have to pay for clothes that don’t fit me, but I also then have to pay for someone to cut half of it off. Whilst there are a small minority of brands working on adaptive fashion, I can’t afford to pay £100 for something that would cost £20 for everyone else.
When I shop online, I have to buy the size I think I am, the size bigger and the size smaller. Because when I try it on, I must think about how it’s going to look when it’s been tailored, and what size would work best for that. It’s constant trial and error. I have numerous life hacks when buying clothes – certain materials don’t need hemming, for example. So not only is there a massive financial issue, but there are also time and sustainability issues to consider.
Adaptive clothing, and clothing for those with additional needs is not a niche issue. Making adaptive clothing more widely available would be good for business. But there are people challenging the status quo. Victoria Jenkins is one of these people. She founded Unhidden – an adaptive fashion range for people with disabilities. So, when she heard about my meeting with Queen Camilla, she offered to expand her range for people of short stature with my help.
My collaboration with Victoria is a really exciting project-in-the-making and, with her increasing profile, including taking part again in London Fashion Week, I hope other retailers will look at her clothing range and realise that they have been missing out on a fantastic business opportunity for too long.
At least 22% of the UK population lives with a condition or an impairment. That’s one in five of us. So believe me when I say we’re overlooking the needs of this community. A community that has an incredible spending power worth £274 billion to the UK economy.
Clothes are so empowering and I want to harness that so that everyone, of all shapes and sizes, can feel enabled – not disabled. I want disabled people to feel represented and have role models to emulate. I dream of the day that big high street brands are stocking accessible clothing ranges.
So, I’m calling to you, British brands and high street retailers, to put inclusive, universal design at the heart of your decisions. No disabled person should have to wear children’s clothes. Or spend more money on adapting your clothing. We have money. We have needs and preferences. We can help you be more successful. Why wouldn’t you want to do this? I really am listening.
Shani Dhanda is an award-winning disability specialist; founder of Diversability, Asian Woman Festival and Asian Disability Network; and is number 2 on the Shaw Trust ‘Disability Power 100 List’. To find out more about the Diversability discount platform, visit www.diversabilitycard.co.uk.
