Patients Took To The Catwalk At Adaptive Clothing Fashion Show

Patients from our hospital unleashed their inner supermodel at an adaptive clothing fashion show, in clothes specially designed to meet their needs.

People with physical differences, including children and young people who have undergone surgery to create an opening (stoma) on the abdomen to divert fecal or urine waste, often find themselves at a disadvantage when shopping for clothes. Mainstream high street stores do not cater for their needs, and only a limited number of specialist retailers exist. Altogether, it makes for a very frustrating and often costly experience and one which Dr. Andrea Jester, Consultant Hand and Plastic Surgeon at our hospital, had heard about time and time again from her patients and their families.

That’s why she teamed up with fashion consultants Carmen Burkett and Sharon Concannon, a team of talented volunteers from the Inclusive Fashion group and the local community for a special fashion show, to uplift and empower her patients, as well as raise awareness of the need for more adaptive clothing within the fashion community.

Dr. Andrea Jester said: “At the hospital we recognised that children with certain disabilities or body changes are not able to buy fashionable clothing on the high street, so we created this show to give our patients the opportunity to not only wear but help create their own designs: high end fashion with a twist.

“Every patient has a different issue and it can be difficult to bring everyone together to talk about that, so the show was something we hoped would gain momentum, raising greater awareness at the same time.”

On the months running up to the event, our young patients were working together with the volunteers on their designs in anticipation of the fashion show, which took place at the South and City College Birmingham’s Digbeth campus.

One of the patients who took to the runway was 12-year-old Evie-Rose Whitehouse, from Longbridge. For all her life, Evie-Rose has lived with idiopathic chronic constipation – a bowel disorder which meant she experienced difficulties with her bowel movements. The condition has caused her pain and sickness and affected her mental health. Over the years she has had multiple procedures to ease her symptoms, with all of them only providing temporary relief.

After years of enduring this chronic illness, Evie-Rose made the decision to have a stoma fitted. She commented: “Having a stoma was a last resort for me. It was a tough decision to make because I knew it would impact my life in so many ways, but I knew the positives would outweigh the negatives, and I was right. It’s the best decision I could have made for myself.”

Although having a stoma has improved her quality of life, she still faced difficulties: “It did knock my confidence at first, and some of the kids at my primary school were cruel, but since I’ve moved to secondary school it’s been a lot better. However, one of the things I still struggle with is the lack of clothing that will accommodate my stoma bag. I wish there were more stores I could shop at, instead of having to get things altered by my nan.

“That’s why I was excited to be involved with the fashion show and the message it sent. It was so much fun and it was nice to meet other kids with the same issues I have. It even inspired me to start my own Etsy business, creating stoma bag carriers people can wear under their clothes.”

Evie-Rose was joined by 18 other children at the show, along with a number of ostomy-related exhibitors and groups who work with children with disabilities in performing arts.

Funds raised from ticket sales and a charity raffle at the event were donated to help us continue supporting our brave patients.