While attending Kent State University, Tracy Vollbrecht visited “(dis)ABLED BEAUTY: The Evolution of Beauty, Disability and Ability,” a Kent State University museum exhibit that introduced her to the world of adaptive fashion.
“[There also was] a couple pieces of adaptive fashion there, and I was like, ‘What is this, how did I not know what this was, I must be the only one who doesn’t know what adaptive fashion is,’” Vollbrecht said.
At the time, her father passed away from multiple sclerosis and with the exhibit sparking her interest in adaptive fashion, Vollbrecht chose to create an adaptive fashion collection for the university’s fashion show and her honors Bachelor of Fine Arts thesis.
Now, nearly 10 years later, Vollbrecht is an adaptive fashion consultant, with experience working for realtors like Target, and will return to the university on March 5 for “Night at the Museum,” a program celebrating the installation of Vollbrecht’s designs in the museum.
For those unfamiliar, Vollbrecht described adaptive fashion as clothing for people with disabilities. Examples can include shoes with zippers instead of laces and jackets with magnetic zippers.
“Within [adaptive fashion] there’s additional terms and things to use, so one example would be sensory friendly, which means a garment that is better for someone with sensory sensitivities,” she said.
Sarah Spinner Liska, the Kent State University Museum director, said her goal is to make the museum more inclusive and accessible. So when she reached out to Vollbrecht and discovered her connection to the museum, she became excited to share this story with current students.
“One of the things that I want to highlight is how the museum can be a platform for creativity and a resource to students on this campus while they’re here,” Spinner Liska said.
To have the program serve as a celebration of Women’s History Month and Development Disabilities Awareness Month, the museum chose to co-host the program with the organization Linking Employment, Abilities and Potential.
Beth Glas, executive director of LEAP, said Spinner Liska and her have previously worked together. So when Spinner Liska approached her with the opportunity to collaborate to ensure the accessibility of the event, Glas was more than willing to work with her.
Glas described the purpose of the event as “feeding two birds with one seed” because of its awareness of adaptive fashion and offering a chance for members of the disability community to meet up in a creative way.
“Another way is bringing together the disability community in a fun and interesting way,” she said. “People who maybe wouldn’t have met each other otherwise. Folks at Kent State, folks at LEAP, other people who hear about this fun event and want to come.”
This program also offers those not only a part of the LEAP but also the disabled community to talk about the importance of fashion within that community.
To make the program accessible to all individuals, Spinner Liska said American Sign Language interpreters will be present at the event and the Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired provided braille labels.
“This museum is for everyone – the message has been my goal for the year. This is your museum, this is the students’ museum, this is a museum where I hope all can feel comfortable and welcomed,” she said.
Starting at 5 p.m. on March 5, Vollbrecht’s designs will be on display in the museum’s lobby. “Night at the Museum” will consist of an hour-long conversation about adaptive fashion with Vollbrecht followed by a reception and museum exploration hour.
From the program, Vollbrecht hopes those in attendance understand adaptive fashion is no different than clothing that abled-bodied people are wearing, but rather ordinary fashion made for those with disabilities in mind.
“I feel like I would only know this if I happen to overhear someone, but I would love to hear someone say, ‘Oh, these aren’t that special,’ cause frankly, they’re not,” she said. “Yes, it’s awesome that these are pieces that make people’s clothing experience better, but again they’re not revolutionary.”