Asos is being praised for their new range of wheelchair friendly jumpsuits designed in partnership with British Paralympian and BBC sports reporter Chloe Ball-Hopkins. This is the first time the brand collaborated with a Para Athlete to create a wheelchair-friendly jumpsuit for the disabled. The brand created the colourful two-piece waterproof jumpsuit after receiving an email from Hopkins. The clothing allows the bottom and the top halves to be zipped together.
The BBC reporter was attending a festival last summer when it began to rain. She tried wrapping herself with a plastic sheet and that is when the idea of a jumpsuit struck her. She returned home and after a week wrote to Asos and received a positive reply. That's how the cool jumpsuit with hood and adjustable cuffs came into being. Its hem is longer at the back so that it would not ride up on you. And now Asos ads featuring Ball-Hopkins are going viral for their inclusive fashionable move.
Meet Chloe Ball-Hopkins in her recently arrived wheelchair friendly jumpsuits!
My @ASOS all in one arrived today! I am so proud to have been a part in this 😊 Who else has ordered theirs? pic.twitter.com/2figKBeStr
— Chloe Ball-Hopkins (@chloe_ballhopzy) July 5, 2018
Ball-Hopkins told the BBC, "People like myself, who are in a chair, we get cold very easily, and water and rain definitely don't help that. She wrote on Twitter, "It's not about making disabled fashion, it’s about making fashion accessible."
So over the last several months I have been working with @ASOS to create a fashionable, yet practical waterproof all in one! Not just for people like me in a chair but for anyone. It's about making fashion accessible! So what should be next?! https://t.co/1gzzkRlED9 pic.twitter.com/7yS57QEmpD
— Chloe Ball-Hopkins (@chloe_ballhopzy) July 4, 2018
This spring, the brand had released a technology which lets shoppers of all sizes preview how clothing will look on different body types. Asos had got into the good books of people when they vowed to stop selling cashmere, mohair, silk and feathers by January 2019. The brand celebrated women of all types by featuring a plus size blogger Callie Thorpe wearing an open back Missguided dress that reveals the rolls on her back.
They also garnered eyeballs when they famously let women show their stretch marks for bikini ads. In a statement, Asos shared their excitement about the new jumpsuit saying, "We really enjoyed working with Chloe on this project, she has so much energy and enthusiasm."
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 10, 2018 03:21 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).