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
Also, Judith Thompson‘s
play Borne, featuring actors who are wheelchair users is playing at Soulpepper
Theatre this week.
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