Garment+
A collaboration between a fashion designer and a Senior Lecturer in Medical Sociology in the Department of Academic Rheumatology at King's, Garment+ tests the role of fashion as a vehicle for positive well-being in patients with musculoskeletal conditions.
Fashion plays an important part of people's lives and contributes to their sense of identity. This is no less true for people living with long-term musculoskeletal conditions (MSK), such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, who often have difficulty dressing due to pain, stiffness, fatigue, and restricted joint mobility. Yet clothing is not always tailored to a variety of bodies and physical capabilities. Existing studies have shown that people with MSK conditions believe that accommodative fashion underscores the notion of ‘illness’ as its aesthetics are often not compatible with their everyday lives.
Garment+ summative exhibition installation shot, courtesy of Dr Heidi Lempp and Alexa Chan
Garment+ posited clothing as a complementary tool for the support of patient well-being. Despite clothing’s intimacy with the human body, mainstream garments marginalise a significant proportion of the population (there were an estimated 11.6 million disabled people in the UK in 2014). These people are most in need of a strengthened sense of self by disregarding the ergonomics necessary for greater ease of dress, comfort, independence and movement. Furthermore, the aesthetics of existing adaptive clothing further perpetuate the stigma of living with a visible or non-visible long-term illness, which can result in feelings of frustration and social exclusion.
In an attempt to remedy this, designer Alexa Chan, a graduate of London College of Fashion, and Dr Heidi Lempp, Senior Lecturer in Medical Sociology, worked with a group of patients to co-create new garment designs that are mobility-friendly. Find out more about accommodative fashion in this interview with Alexa about her work.
Garment+ summative exhibition installation shot, courtesy of Dr Heidi Lempp and Alexa Chan
The patients were invited to test garment prototypes during workshops and their daily activities. Through four co-design workshops, design parameters were determined through an iterative cycle of making, testing, feedback and modification. This practice allowed for the development of a range of template designs that overcome the different barriers to independent dressing and wider diversity of choice. The resulting prototypes reflected patient concerns regarding garment closures, comfortable fabrics and proportions. Patients concurred that garments that are functional, accessible and aesthetically compatible with their daily lives can maximise patients’ satisfaction, independence and social acceptance; thus playing a pivotal role in sustaining a feeling of control over their personal lives.
Garment+ summative exhibition installation shot, courtesy of Dr Heidi Lempp and Alexa Chan
Patients’ experiences were collated and used to further research practices in the fields of both clothing design and patient care. Allied health professionals and carers will then be able to use the project’s findings to guide and support people with MSK conditions in making early lifestyle adjustments, rather than leaving the patient to trial-and-error, therefore minimising frustration about their physical restrictions. The project also sought to produce an educational ‘toolkit’ for designers that can be applied in teaching to encourage fashion students to consider often overlooked body types and capabilities, without compromising aesthetic inclinations.
Garment+ summative exhibition installation shot, courtesy of Dr Heidi Lempp and Alexa Chan
Project events
The work of the project team and their patient group was showcased in two events:
13 December 2016 - a one day showcase in Golden Jubilee Wing Atrium, Denmark Hill Campus, King's College Hospital.
24–25 February 2017 - a two-day exhibition in Guy's Hospital Atrium 1, Guy's Campus. King's College London.
This summative exhibition chronicled the collaborative design, research journey, findings and outcomes yielded from the project.
Alexa was available for questions and discussion and gave project walk-throughs on both days.
Project team
Dr Heidi Lempp, Senior Lecturer in Medical Sociology, Department of Academic Rheumatology
Alexa Chan, MA Fashion Futures Graduate, London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London.
The project team also includes Dr James Galloway, Senior Clinical Lecturer/Consultant in Rheumatology, two departmental Expert Patients, and one Outpatient Clinic patient.
Garment+ is a collaboration between King's College London's Department of Academic Rheumatology and designer Alexa Chan, brokered and supported by the Cultural Institute at King’s College London.