Mindy Scheier: How adaptive clothing empowers people with disabilities
Mindy Scheier: Como roupas adaptadas melhoram a vida de pessoas com deficiência
Mindy Scheier is the founder of the Runway of Dreams Foundation. Prior to launching the nonprofit, Mindy spent over 20 years working in fashion as a key member of the design team for the INC collection and stylist for Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
thinking about what I'm going to wear
pensando no que vou vestir no outro dia.
me define e me deixa confiante.
the same way about fashion,
em moda como eu,
or a pair of jeans that transforms you --
ou calça que lhe transformam,
queria ser a Betsey Johnson.
crazy-hair spirits together.
por causa dos nossos penteados exóticos.
na indústria da moda por anos,
with a rare form of muscular dystrophy,
nasceu com uma distrofia muscular rara,
seu sistema pulmonar, distorce o corpo
more challenging than most.
desafiadora do que a da maioria.
para ter estabilidade.
apropriadamente
that was placed on his face.
colocado no rosto.
que ele e eu tivemos que enfrentar.
que pra nós são corriqueiras,
the very thing that I adore --
não afeta sua mente,
of his shortcomings.
consciente das suas dificuldades.
when he started school,
quando ele foi pra escola,
was a constant reminder
um lembrete constante
to wear sweatpants every day:
usar calça de moleton todo dia,
he would wear proper pants.
ele usava calças apropriadas,
the button and zipper,
dificuldade com o botão e com o zíper,
to the men's room,
ao banheiro masculino,
que estivesse lá.
There's nothing I haven't seen before."
não tem nada aí que eu já não vi antes".
than I ever imagined.
mais parecido comigo do que eu imaginava,
and said very definitively
e me disse super decidido
like everybody else gets to wear.
assim como todo mundo.
to class with him
e o levar no banheiro masculino,
I was telling my eight-year-old
what he wanted to wear.
não era uma opção.
my own favorite pants,
de usar minha calça favorita,
vai até o botão e volta?
puxar o elástico sozinho,
up and down on his own.
of the bottom of his pants
da parte debaixo da calça
entrarem melhor,
autocolante, dá pra acreditar?
peel and stick, mind you --
my arts and crafts project,
with his head held so high.
to the bathroom on his own;
into the world of adaptive clothing.
no mundo das roupas adaptadas.
designed for people with disabilities,
para pessoas com deficiências,
que tenha dificuldade para se vestir.
with dressing themselves.
fashion component.
básico da moda,
e eram muito práticas,
porque importa o que você veste,
sua saúde e sua autoestima.
I've known this forever,
sei disso desde sempre,
have a name for it.
of wearing the clothing,
to how you feel about yourself.
em como você sente sobre si mesmo.
by the name of Karen J. Pine.
chamada Karen J. Pine,
"Mind What You Wear:
The Psychology of Fashion".
que quando você põe uma roupa,
of what you're wearing,
do que está vestindo,
uma estrela do rock
those perfect-fitting jeans.
que encaixa perfeito em você,
when you put on that power suit,
aquele terno poderoso,
Oliver felt so isolated
se sentir tão isolado
what he wanted to wear.
faz eu me sentir vestido como deficiente".
com algum tipo de deficiência.
experience clothing challenges,
sofrem com dificuldades em se vestir,
that may not be as confident,
que não são tão confiantes,
wearing those jeans,
saiu pra escola vestindo o jeans,
do something about that.
fazer algo a respeito.
called Runway of Dreams.
chamada "Runway of Dreams".
the fashion industry
a indústria da moda
to mainstream clothing
nas roupas voltadas a essa comunidade,
that has never been served.
que nunca tinha sido atendida.
year of research.
I went to hospitals.
on the street who were in wheelchairs
que estavam em cadeira de rodas,
going to make a difference,
fazer a diferença,
the clothing challenges
os desafios para se vestir
as I possibly could.
que eu pudesse ouvir.
who has cerebral palsy.
com paralisia cerebral.
to wear jeans on campus,
andar de jeans pelo campus,
que não tinha antebraço e mão esquerda.
her left forearm and her hand.
her daughter's difference magnified
por causa de mangas esvoaçantes,
professionally tailored.
em todas as camisas de manga comprida.
and money she spent?
e dinheiro ela gastou?
of spending time with Eric LeGrand,
de passar um tempo com Eric LeGrand,
who was paralyzed during a tackle in 2010.
paralisado em um acidente de jogo em 2010.
seen some unfathomable things,
algumas coisas difíceis de explicar,
was the most heart-stopping.
foi a mais comovente.
e uma máquina de elevar para o vestir.
and a lifting machine
for over two hours.
por mais de duas horas.
minha indignação ao Eric,
a change in the industry,
uma mudança na indústria,
how to make these clothes modified.
de como modificar essas roupas.
I gathered over that past year,
que tinha coletado no ano que passou,
que eram afetadas indistintamente.
actually three categories
were a challenge for almost everybody.
são um desafio para quase todo mundo.
with a more manageable technology:
por uma tecnologia mais fácil:
able to wear jeans on campus,
em Harvard usar jeans no campus,
different-shaped bodies.
com diferentes formatos de corpos,
a shirt right off the rack
que acabou de sair da loja
the clothing on and off the body,
pra vestir e tirar a roupa,
of over your head.
que são por cima da cabeça.
com os braços primeiro.
off his dressing process
no seu processo de se vestir
que é o tempo.
comprei roupas nas lojas,
ripped them apart,
desmanchei as roupas,
until I felt I had great modifications.
até conseguir as mudanças que queria.
going to make a difference,
comprassem a ideia.
conscientizar a indústria
to educate the industry
que não estavam sendo levados em conta.
that the industry heard me.
que a indústria me escutou.
with the most amazing,
e progressista do planeta,
e entrou para a história da moda
adaptive collection.
de moda básica de roupas adaptáveis.
para uma ajuda significativa.
quando você iniciar seu dia
what you're going to wear,
faz você se sentir.
sua camisa com botões magnéticos,
are going to break down over time.
vão atrofiar com o tempo.
devastating part for me.
that I cannot control
das coisas que não controlo
industry to look up.
que continuem a melhorar.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Mindy Scheier - Fashion designerMindy Scheier is the founder of the Runway of Dreams Foundation. Prior to launching the nonprofit, Mindy spent over 20 years working in fashion as a key member of the design team for the INC collection and stylist for Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City.
Why you should listen
Mindy Scheier's career path took a new direction when her son Oliver, who has a rare form of muscular dystrophy that causes physical disabilities, wanted to wear jeans to school like his friends. She used her background in design to adapt a pair that not only met his needs but increased his confidence. She soon realized that millions of people around the globe were also struggling to access fashionable clothing and went on to conduct extensive research and focus groups with people of all abilities to better understand the challenges faced by the community. She used her experience in fashion to develop modifications -- including magnetic closures, adjustability of waistbands, pant and sleeve lengths and alternative ways to get in and out of the clothing -- to meet a wide variety of needs within the differently-abled community. After pounding the fashion pavement, Runway of Dreams collaborated with Tommy Hilfiger on the first ever-mainstream adaptive clothing line for kids in Spring 2016.
Scheier's work with Runway of Dreams Foundation expands beyond adaptive clothing. Founded on the basis that clothing is a basic human need, the Runway of Dreams Foundation develops, delivers and supports initiatives to broaden the reach of mainstream adaptive clothing and promote the differently-abled community in the fashion industry. Through adaptive clothing donations, employment opportunity initiatives, adaptive design workshops, awareness building campaigns and scholarships programs, the Runway of Dreams Foundation is empowering people with disabilities with opportunity, confidence, independence and style. Envisioning a world where fashion is mainstream and accessible for all, Scheier continues to break down barriers and challenge industry norms.
Mindy Scheier | Speaker | TED.com