Blog # 35…July 2014

In 2004 when Izzy Camilleri was approached to design a winter wrap for Toronto Star reporter Barbara Turnbull, her eyes were opened to a totally new way of thinking about fashion. Barbara arrived at Izzy’s studio in a wheelchair which she’d been using since 1983 when her spinal cord was severed by a gunshot fired during a robbery of the convenience store where she was working. She wanted something to keep warm in her chair that would be easy to get in and out of and… she longed for something beautiful. 

Izzy had never considered the difficulties of dressing for sitting but jumped at the challenge and over the past decade, has created a whole new adaptive line. She met with and listened to many people who are wheelchair users and has developed patterns and skills at cutting, placing seams and closures to ensure comfort and fit.  The garments must be easy to put on and take off for the wearer and/or their helper, they need the room and shape to accommodate sitting without extra material to bunch and they should sit smoothly over the shoulders…rather like we all want our clothes to fit. She didn’t want to sacrifice style or beauty either, using materials like leather, fur, silk and velvet. 


Although there are many different body shapes amongst her clients, she uses the concept of designing for an L shaped body rather than an I shape, in other words, the shape of someone sitting. Another important notion is placing the opening at the back of shirts and jackets so the arms go in straight forward and the clothing wraps around and fastens at the back where no one sees it anyway.
People with disabilities are marginalized in so many ways and face so many challenges, large and small that it’s wonderful to see some attention being paid to both the practicalities and the esthetics of their clothing.  And, Izzy Camilleri is now moving into designing for the aging population who want smart comfortable items that suit their figures and their tastes.


There’s a delicious small show just opened on the 4th level of the Royal Ontario Museum called Fashion Follows Form: Designs for Sitting,  a collaboration by Barbara Turnbull, Izzy Camilleri and Alexandra Palmer, Fashion and Textile curator at the ROM, on until January 2015…worth a visit.  
Also, Judith Thompson‘s play Borne, featuring actors who are wheelchair users is playing at Soulpepper Theatre this week.