Range and reach of Caring Clothing set to expand
A Melbourne-based adaptive clothing company is looking to expand its range after officially and successfully launching into the public sphere earlier in the year.
Caring Clothing is currently aimed to suit those in aged care facilities (Source: Shutterstock)
Caring Clothing, designed to be fashionable, quality and clever, is currently aimed to suit those in aged care facilities, offering assistance to people with restricted mobility due to illness, injury or disability and carers assisting in dressing them.
Company director Serena Gove says it was her work in the care sector that initiated the clothing line concept after seeing first-hand the impact of helping dress those in her care in normal clothing had for not only the people who suffered from loss of mobility, but also to carers assisting who are put under physical strain.
She says the goal behind the clothing range is to provide men and women of all ages with easy to use clothing that promotes independence, dignity, self-worth and self-identity.
“I wanted to create somewhere people could come to find clothing to suit them – regardless of age and regardless of ailment,” Ms Gove says.
She adds that the process has been a long one, technically in the making since 2012, but says it was all worth it because she wanted to ensure that it would be “impossible to tell the clothing was adaptive from looks alone.”
“We wanted to make sure the products were right,” she says.
“It was important to ensure they fitted correctly, the designs were right, that the fabrics were suitable and were going to wear right.
“We wanted to ensure that the clothing did help reduce pain by ensuring people didn’t need to manipulate body parts like shoulders as much.
“The aim was to make dressing safer for them, whether they are being assisted to dress, or dressing themselves.”
It was Ms Gove’s two decades of experience working in the aged and disability industry as a nurse in nursing homes and community care that led her to not only produce the clothing line, but also initially launch it within the aged sector. Now, Caring Clothing is working on a wider adult range, as well as a collection for adolescents and children.
All the collections will have the same focus…?
“People’s style is their self-identity,” Ms Gove explains.
“They still want to feel youthful and express who they are, rather than just dressing for ease.
“Often the ease takes out the fashion and the fun – that’s what we are trying to bring back.”
Caring Clothing’s full range of clothing and footwear, as well as a list of stockists and more information, are available online.
