iHOPE students got a chance to show off their unique fashion sense and learn about adaptive clothing at the second annual iHOPE Fashion Week hosted by the school's OT department earlier this month.

The three-day event allowed students to experience the versatile world of fashion with different activities planned for each day. All staff and students took part in the fun, which included an adaptive shopping activity, where students drove their power chairs through a store set up at the school to help them understand what it would be like to navigate such a space.

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They also learned about money management, made shopping lists, and used accessible iPad features and switches for online shopping.

The school’s adaptive closet has slowly been growing since last year and included donated items from Target and other private donors. The closet featured pieces such as shirts with magnetic buttons and Velcro openings and Ankle Foot Orthosis-friendly shoes for balance and stability.

One day was also dedicated to pretend play, where students got to dress up in their favorite adaptive costumes and decorate their wheelchairs as well. Costumes included Baby Yoda from Star Wars, and pirate ships and princess carriages for wheelchair gears. 

“I am really excited to scale up OT Fashion Week and the iHOPE closet in the coming years,” said Chau Nguyen, Senior Occupational Therapist at iHOPE and one of the Fashion Week organizers. “We hope to continue growing the number of people who participate in our closet and have more days of fashion week, maybe even multiple weeks, to celebrate fashion with our students.”