Three years ago, when Team Canada participated in the opening ceremonies of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, their athletes sported stylish white jeans. While they looked great, the jeans posed a problem for some of the Paralympians on the team.
Take Alison Levine, for instance. A para-athlete who competes in boccia, she couldn’t wear the jeans because they were uncomfortable in her wheelchair; they pressed against her skin and lacked an elastic waistband, making them hard to put on and take off.
“There was no way I could manage those jeans,” Levine recalls. As a result, she had to find something else that would fit and still look good. “You don’t want to stand out for the wrong reasons because of your disability,” she expresses. “It shouldn’t feel like it’s ‘Team Canada and the rest of us.’”
This year, however, things have changed. At the Paralympics’ opening ceremony in Paris, Levine and her teammates were dressed in vibrant red jackets equipped with features like magnetic closures, making them easier for all athletes to wear, regardless of their abilities. They even had the option of specially designed seated carpenter pants called the “Alison pant” that took Levine’s needs into account.
Levine views this design update—initiated three years ago when Lululemon began consulting her and others—as a significant step forward, not just for Olympic apparel, but also in the shift toward adaptive or inclusive fashion. This emerging trend sees fashion brands beginning to acknowledge the needs of disabled individuals and recognizing their value as consumers.
“People want to look good, no matter their abilities,” says Levine, 34, who lives with a degenerative neuromuscular disorder. “Often, when you have a disability, you feel like you have to trade in style for comfort. But the disability movement is getting stronger and we’re saying we won’t settle for that anymore.”
Levine is aware that she and her Canadian teammates are among the fortunate ones; most athletes don’t have the backing of a major apparel brand to tailor their uniforms to their needs. Lululemon, which has a four-Games collaboration with Team Canada, designed all the athletes’ outfits for events outside of competition, including opening and closing ceremonies, casual wear, medal ceremonies, media engagements, and travel.
Audrey Reilly, the creative director for Team Canada at Lululemon, was surprised to learn that Levine generally wore medical scrubs for comfort during her training and competitions. This discovery led to new designs that cater to both seated and standing athletes. “All athletes want to wear the same thing,” Reilly notes. “They want to feel unified.”
The “Alison pant” features pockets located at the shins for easier access for athletes in wheelchairs. Levine described it as “incredible” to have a piece of clothing named after her, but she cherished the significance of being able to wear the same outfits as her teammates: “It feels like you’re truly part of the team.”
Alison Brown, a podcaster who has covered the Olympics for years, believes this Olympic cycle is the first time she’s really noticed adaptive fashion gaining traction. Both the spring reveal of the Lululemon kits and the Nike unveiling for Team USA showcased models with disabilities, including those using wheelchairs or wearing prosthetics.
“It’s a simple change but incredibly meaningful,” Brown says, highlighting that many teams lack the resources or the structure—like Team USA and Team Canada—where Olympians and Paralympians are included in the same program.
For Mindy Scheier, who has been advocating for better clothing options for disabled individuals for over a decade, it’s no surprise that 2024 is witnessing this shift in visibility, especially in Paris, a global fashion hub.
“The industry dynamic has shifted, and brands are realizing this is a viable market,” Scheier explains. “The momentum has trickled down to both the Olympics and Paralympics, thanks to significant breakthroughs within the fashion world.”
Scheier began her advocacy eight years ago when her son, who has muscular dystrophy, expressed a desire to wear jeans instead of sweatpants to school, yet she couldn’t find any suitable options. As a fashion designer, she founded a foundation and consulting agency to work with brands to create adaptive fashion lines.
In just ten years, she has partnered with numerous brands, from high-end designer Tommy Hilfiger, which has its own adaptive line known as Tommy Adaptive, to Target, Victoria’s Secret, and more. Her foundation, Runway of Dreams, is set to host a fashion show this month during New York Fashion Week featuring around 60 models with various disabilities.
“This community is vocal and desires to be recognized as consumers,” Scheier states.
Jessica Long, a fashion enthusiast and accomplished para swimmer for Team USA, is participating in her sixth Paralympics. She began winning gold medals at the young age of 12. As a double amputee, Long points out that finding shoes suitable for her prosthetics has always been a challenge.
“There aren’t many aspects of my life that make me feel particularly disabled, but shoe shopping has always been tough,” she explains. While it has become easier over the years as she gained confidence, she admits that selecting the right shoes remains the biggest hurdle: “The wrong shoes can really affect how I walk if they’re too heavy.”
Long appreciates that the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, along with sponsor Ralph Lauren, made an effort to survey para athletes about their needs a year ago when planning the ceremony attire.
“I’ve seen significant advancements in mobility for us,” Long shared in an interview before the Paralympics. “It’s those small improvements that mean the most to para athletes. It will be exciting to see everyone dressed up.”
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For more about the Paralympics, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/paralympic-games
