A schuh pilot project that showcases emerging creative talent in Manchester has been extended as the footwear brand teams up with a young local adaptive fashion company for Disability Pride Month.
Radical grassroots label RECONDITION has taken over the retailer’s prominent Manchester Market Street storefront for July and turned it into a window on the world of adaptive fashion, which makes designs more accessible for disabled people.
It is the first time that schuh, who launched their community window project this March, has spotlighted an adaptive fashion brand.
RECONDITION was launched by Manchester Metropolitan University fashion graduate Ellie Brown in 2023. The young company will use the opportunity to spotlight key looks from their first collection. It was previewed in the city at an event called the Disability Pride Catwalk at Aviva Studios, home of Factory International, this June.
Brown’s eyes were opened to how unaccommodating mainstream fashion can be in 2021, when she badly broke her ankle, which resulted in her using a wheelchair for several months.
Her small city centre based company now works alongside a co-design group who have varying lived experience of disability. This ensures that her designs are truly fit for purpose.
Every garment in RECONDITION’s denim-centred range has built in adaptations to make the designs more accessible to disabled people. These include front pockets on jeans for wheelchair users, ring pull zips for people with reduced dexterity and sleeves with poppers along their full length to help accommodate prosthetic limbs or medical equipment from feeding tubes to insulin pumps.
schuh’s community window scheme, which is currently being trialled in Manchester, offers a revolving behind-the-scenes glimpse at the practice and process of local emerging creatives.
Stephanie O’Reilly, head of community, schuh, said: “When we discovered RECONDITION we knew immediately that our values aligned.
“schuh want as many people as possible to be able to enjoy the shopping experience, visit its stores and for customers to feel confident and valued.
“We love that Ellie and RECONDITION are pushing for progress and want to improve accessibility and inclusion in the fashion industry.
“As well as providing footwear and funding for the Disability Pride Catwalk, our Manchester Market Street community window felt like a great stage for Ellie and RECONDITION and ties back to our ambition for the window, which is to create opportunities for local and underrepresented creative voices.”
Ellie said: “It’s a very exciting opportunity to be able to showcase what we do in such a prominent location.
“I hope our community window will provoke useful discussions about how fashion – and society as a whole – can take more accountability for inclusivity. We are very grateful to schuh for their support.”
