California Apparel News

ABL Denim, with its custom tailoring business The Able Tailor, was conceived by Stephanie Alves, a Los Angeles–based designer who creates and tailors apparel —including denim bottoms, sweat pants, jackets, tops and accessories—for people with physical disabilities and limited mobility.

Alves, who has been sewing since the age of 10, found her niche in the apparel industry early on. “I was first made aware of dressing problems experienced by disabled people [through] my brother, who had developmental problems as a child. There wasn’t Velcro on sneakers in the ’70s, so he could never tie his own shoes. My mother suggested I explore it then, but I wasn’t interested—I wanted to do fashion,” Alves said.

Instead, Alves found herself working for several design rooms, focusing on menswear, womenswear and kids’ collections. She later became the owner of two fashion boutiques, named 66 on Seven, located in New York’s East Village and SoHo neighborhoods, and producing her own clothing line, Stephanie Alves, as well. Alves also designed for Ann Taylor and freelanced for big retailers Gap, Limited Too and Armani Exchange.

It was not until recently that Alves was reminded about utilizing her design skills to help those with physical handicaps.

“My stepsister started using a wheelchair due to nerve damage from two [failed] back surgeries. She hardly got dressed, [basically] living in scrubs because it was just too difficult to get dressed in regular clothes,” Alves said.

She asked her stepsister if altering the pants, by opening up the sides of the jeans, would make it more functional to move. Her sister agreed, and, so, Alves began producing custom-made pants.

“I started The Able Tailor, a service to customize an individual’s own clothes according to their needs,” she said. “I met disabled men, women and children with a variety of disabilities due mostly to conditions including cerebral palsy, [multiple sclerosis] and arthritis.”

Alves officially launched her line this year after exhibiting some of her work at the 2011 Abilities Expo, held at the Los Angeles Convention Center.According to Alves, the Abilities Expo was a great opportunity for her to showcase her new line. “I only had a few routine adaptive alterations under my belt, so I talked to everyone I could about their clothing needs. I wanted to focus on the most requested item that would be hard to buy off a rack and wear.” The overall consensus, Alves said, was denim pants.

She wanted to make a denim collection that had a sense of style and maintained a premium quality and functionality at the same time.

ABL offers four standard fits that are customized for each customer: the WCH jean, the “A” jean, the “Sensory” jean for kids and the sweatpant. Alves also manufactures an accessories wheelchair bag. The denim comes in five colorways: black overdye, dark rinse, classic blue, wax blue and bright rinse.

Each jean has various adaptive features, such as side-seam zippers that open to the hips, making the jeans easier to get on and off; removable zipper-pulls that are made out of rubber string; optional zippers placed at the hem for braces or amputees; and a waist that rests higher in the back.

“I usually open up the waist more than an average pair of jeans. Some of the seams are inside out. Fits actually are not standard; they accommodate the different body shapes of people with disabilities. Some styles are for wheelchairs users, some work better for people walking, but every pair has simpler fasteners for those that have a lack of dexterity in their fingers. The finishing has to be extra soft, especially for the Sensory jean, which addresses tactility issues of [many] autistic children,” Alves said.

To purchase an ABL item, contact Alves directly at stephanie@abletailor.com or visit the online store that will be up and running by the end of May. ABL Denim just ended its campaign on Kickstarter (www.kickstarter.com), a site that raises funds for creative projects. Alves already exceeded her initial pre-production goal of 15,000.

The current retail price points are mid-level, with kids’ jeans ranging from $60 to $65, extra-soft denim sweats at $75 and fully constructed jeans coming in at $85.

Alves hopes to find a Los Angeles–based manufacturer to partner with to create a wholesale line at lower retail price points to reach the mass market. “Many want the premium-denim finishes I am offering but need Target-level price points,” she said.

Alves currently works with denim design consultant Stefano Aldighieri of Another Design Studio,who is also helping her find a locally based manufacturer who understands her concept and precise design executions.

For more information, visit www.abletailor.com and www.abldenim.com. Alves’ Kickstarter campaign can be seen at www.kickstarter.com/projects/374290228/abl-denim-adaptive-jeans.