Zalando is expanding its range to clothing, shoes and accessories that are geared to the needs of people with disabilities and are deliberately designed to be easier to use by people with permanent or temporary impairments.
The addition of adaptive fashion to its product range is an important milestone for Zalando. As part of its diversity and inclusion strategy, the company aims to offer an inclusive assortment and shopping experience for underrepresented groups by 2025. The first adaptive fashion collection from Zalando’s own fashion brands Zign, Pier One, Anna Field, Yourturn and Even&Odd is already available. It consists of more than 140 different styles and includes women’s and men’s apparel and footwear and is available in all 25 Zalando stores. In addition, Zalando is offering Tommy Hilfiger Adaptive in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland. Tommy Hilfiger has been continuously investing in and producing adaptive fashion since 2017. This long experience makes Tommy Hilfiger the ideal partner brand to complement Zalando’s first adaptive offering.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about one in five Europeans live with a form of disability that requires them to wear adaptive fashion. Zalando’s adaptive fashion is aimed at disabled people living with different types of impairments, such as limited mobility, limited dexterity or sensory sensitivity. The collection also aims to address the needs of caregivers of children with disabilities. Styles in the first collection include fashion designs for wheelchair sitting, products specifically for skin sensitivities, styles with simple closures, and clothing suitable for prosthetics or bandages. Prior to the launch of the adaptive fashion collection, Zalando conducted an extensive customer survey in various markets to better understand the experience and needs of people with disabilities.
In addition to a dedicated landing page for adaptive fashion in its Fashion Store, Zalando introduced an “Adaptive” tagline that highlights adaptive styles. Titled “Embrace what makes you, you,” Zalando launched a marketing campaign to draw attention to its new adaptive fashion collections. In it, voices from the community are represented by disabled people, and the content was produced by disabled talent. Zalando Marketing Services (ZMS) developed an accompanying marketing campaign for the Tommy Hilfiger Adaptive collection.
