Design Academy: taking Adaptive fashion to the next level

Real inclusivity in fashion goes beyond size and functionality—it’s about offering creativity and freedom, empowering people to express their individuality and enhance their self-confidence. At Zalando, our journey in Adaptive fashion has taught us that true inclusivity happens only when the Disabled community is at the heart of the creative process. It’s through this collaboration that we can break barriers and design pieces that are inclusive in the broadest sense.

Adaptive fashion doesn’t have to be only practical —it can be bold, fun, and stylish. “This is exactly what we aimed to achieve this year with the Design Academy: bringing together creativity, technology, and collaboration with the Disabled community to create pieces that give them the freedom to be exactly who they are,” says Lara Gesche, Senior Social Impact Manager at Zalando.

The Design Academy is an educational programme co-hosted by Zalando and VORN - The Berlin Fashion Hub, with a strong focus on innovation in fashion. Each year, the programme selects a specific focus area, offering designers from across Europe the opportunity to win a scholarship, receive training and mentoring, develop a concept, and showcase their creations at Berlin Fashion Week. The third edition of the Design Academy, held from April 2024 to January 2025, was dedicated to Adaptive fashion. Ten talented designers collaborated with a member of the Disabled community to co-create, advise on, influence and model the functional - but stylish - Adaptive garments, designed for the specific needs of disabled people.

Traditional fashion often overlooks the diversity in mobility, dexterity, and body shapes. Adaptive solutions can be as simple as magnetic closures, adjustable waistbands, tagless labels for sensory sensitivities, or designs tailored for seated wear or prosthetic use. These features not only make dressing more manageable and potentially more autonomous, but also highlight the growing recognition that functional fashion can—and should—be empowering and stylish.

Learn more about the inspiring work of this year’s Design Academy finalists and their innovative Adaptive designs

Adaptive features incorporated in the creations

Designer: Megan Hall
Piece: Bodysuit
Adaptive features: Folded cuff at the leg opening of the bodysuit for more comfort when seated. Fasteners positioned forward, instead of underneath the bodysuit, to facilitate pulling it up and taking it off more easily. Clasps on the front straps for easier access for those with limited movement. Adjusters in the front rather than in the back. Racerback slimmed in the middle, for providing a wider range of movement.

Designer: Alison Black
Piece: Jacket
Adaptive features: Cinchable straps in the sleeve cuffs and at the waist for comfort and style, adjustable with minimal movement. Cropped length for seated position. Fastenings positioned in areas to facilitate getting dressed more easily and to make it easier for caretakers to assist.

Designer: Britta Knossalla
Piece: Cardigan
Adaptive features: Adjustable and detachable sleeves to be worn with or without prosthesis. Self-joining magnetic zippers for easier fastening. Large, strategically-placed pockets for one-hand handling. 

Designer: Madeleine Marquardt
Piece: Dress
Adaptive features: Size-adjustable dress to facilitate wearing it in different positions. Seams placed all over the dress with elastic mechanisms and ribbons to both decorate the dress and also make it more adjustable with minimal movements, including with one hand.

Designer: Isabella Schuh
Pieces: Dress, top and skirt
Adaptive features: Modular garment suitable for people with different needs and body shapes. Pieces can be connected or disconnected, becoming a top and a skirt or a dress. 3D-printed buttons allow for more personalisation. 

Designer: Carles López
Piece: Vest
Adaptive features: Self-joining magnetic zippers for easier fastening, including with one hand and/or limited dexterity. Internal corset with magnetic zipper allows for dressing in a leaning-back position, making it easier for individuals with limited mobility or their caretakers to support them. Large pull hoops on zippers for style and use with a single hand. Well placed front pockets for easy access when seated as well as cropped length to preserve the style in a seated position. Merino wool for temperature regulation 
 

Designer: Svitlana Volkova (Svitla)
Piece: Jeans trousers
Adaptive features: Full-length zippers to open jeans from top to bottom and enter them more easily, including from a seated position. Stretchy material for a more flexible fit and easier dressing. Curved shape to accommodate cargo pockets for keeping tools for adjusting prostheses with specific holders inside the pocket. Suspenders for easier dressing and to avoid the need to wear a belt, which is not comfortable for some disabilities. 

Designer: Boglárka Pitenyák
Piece: Blouse
Adaptive features: Laser-perforated warm softshell fabric creates a flexible textile surface that can adapt to different body sizes and shapes. Blouse with three-quarter length sleeves and flexibility at shoulders and arms for more  comfort and usability.

Designer: Ann-Sophie Schaelicke
Piece: Trenchcoat
Adaptive features - Trenchcoat: Magnetic closures for easier, including potentially more autonomous, and faster dressing. Magnetic detachable sleeves. Sleeves designed to be adjustable to accommodate a diverse and wide range of mobility.  The bottom half of the trench coat - at the back - can be removed with velcro to accommodate a comfortable seated position without losing the item’s style, making it suitable for both standing and seated wearers.   Flat and reinforced seams for comfort and longer wear. Magnetic shoulder flaps serve as a bag holder for wheelchair users so they can navigate their chair without losing their bag. 

Piece: Black dress
Adaptive features - Black dress:  Bi-elastic fabric, offering flexibility, ease of movement and comfort. Magnetic closures at the shoulders and down the dress for easier, and potentially, more autonomous dressing. Closures in contrasting colours for easier visual identification. Discrete openings for medical access. Asymmetrical hemline— slightly longer in the back— ensuring coverage while seated. 

Designer: Sebastián Kutzbach
Piece: Knitted sweater
Adaptive features: Self-joining magnetic zipper, easy to open and close with a generous pull loop. Organic cotton with limited seams and two colours only for lighter weight and more comfortable wear. Adjustable sleeve cuffs to avoid damage or getting caught in wheels of a wheelchair. trapped in the wheelchair. Neck is machine-woven to be stretchy and allow for wider access, including with a zipper for easier dressing