Tommy Adaptive - Independence. The Inclusive Launch of the World’s First Adaptive Clothing Line
Tommy Hilfiger
Issue 50 | February 2019
Agency
POSSIBLE
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer Danielle Trivisonno Hawley Executive Creative Director Jason Marks Associate Creative Director Lee Groh Group Creative Director Nicole McDonagh Copywriter Kiyomi Dong
Production Team
Group Director, Project Management Gary Goldsmith, Executive Producer Dax Estorninos
Other Credits
EVP Strategy and Insights Jaime Klein-Daley Account Director Aikisha Prince, Account Supervisor Christina Mallon Senior Strategist Lesley Parks
Date
October 2018
Background
The Tommy Hilfiger Adaptive mission was to make the world a more inclusive place, one fashion innovation at a time. In 2016, partnering with Runway of Dreams, the company created a clothing line for children with disabilities.
In 2018, Tommy Adaptive was launched.
The shirts, trousers, dresses and jackets were designed to be easy to put on with one-handed zippers, side-seam openings, adjustable waists, magnetic buttons and Velcro fastenings.
Idea
“Independence” was an inclusive fashion campaign designed with and for people with disabilities. From research and strategy, to the design of the products and to the shopping experience itself, the goal was 100% inclusivity. The agency’s role was to work with both caregivers and people with disabilities to shape both the products and the marketing. The intention was to challenge assumptions about what fashion is and does, with people with disabilities as the ultimate insiders.
Even the commercial was shot by visuallyimpaired director and film-maker James Rath. Several members of the camera crew had family members who were disabled and the cast featured people with disabilities of all kinds.
Results
Unknown
Our Thoughts
I chose this to be one of the Top 50 campaigns from all 50 issues of Directory (pages 3 – 55) because there are a lot of brands talking the talk about diversity and inclusivity but not so many walking the walk.
Alexander McQueen introduced disability models in the late 90s but few brands have created clothing specifically for disabled people. This is not just bad karma, it’s bad business. According to The Guardian, Britain’s disabled population numbers nearly 12 million people with a combined spending power of £80 billion. Multiply those figures for North America.
The next problem that needs to be sorted is access not just to clothes shops but to the clothes on the racks.
This commitment to inclusivity didn’t start in the Tommy Hilfiger marketing department.
It seems to have started with Tommy Hilfiger himself, recognising that when a brand stands for something it gives people a reason to buy its products.