Functional Clothing for The Differently Abled

Abstract

Disability may be broadly defined as a physical or mental condition that limits a person's movements, senses, or activities. Functional clothing is essentially designed to fulfil special requirements of the wearer including body disproportions or impairment. It also may affect a person's emotional wellbeing. This is an exciting field of study where opportunities of research, design and development of clothing for differently persons are being explored all over the world. Research and development of functional clothing in India is a relatively new field. This paper traces outstanding global advances in the field of functional clothing for the differently abled. Disabilities are of many types and functional clothing for each type of disability has entirely different requirements. Persons who are wheelchair bound, those who are bed ridden, persons who are spastic, autistic etc. all require different kinds of functional clothing. Clothing should be aesthetically appealing and should follow current fashion trends wherever possible; they should be easy to wear by themselves; they should be easy to care for and also provide the wearers with a sense of physical and mental comfort. Special requirements which arise from disabilities require the application of design and development to address the physical, physiological and mental issues for the differently abled. Global standards in quality, aesthetics and convenience should be followed so that such persons do not feel uncomfortable in any way. The paper introduces readers to new and exciting developments in the field of functional clothing for the disabled.