Couple develops clothing line to support differently-abled daughter

After studying design at the National Institute of Fashion Technology in New Delhi, Joe Ikareth worked with couturier Suneet Varma for a few years. During his stint in Delhi, he got involved with creating costumes for various contemporary dance performances. The experience of designing clothes for dance companies led Joe into experimenting in innovative design directions, designing clothes with a strong focus on movement. Later, movement became an integral part of his design for contemporary clothing. But Joe’s concept of design changed when his daughter Tilotama was born with a partially paralysed arm among other physical issues. Along with his wife  Murielle Ikareth, who is a creative movement therapist, Joe co-created Move Ability Clothing line that provides clothing solutions for differently-abled people and individuals with special needs that answer an increasing need for ease of dressing and undressing.

“The motivation to start Move Ability was based on our collective daily experience as parents of our 15-year-old daughter, Tilotama. Murielle has been working with developing Tilotama’s movement range through creative movement therapy since she was a baby. It has helped her increase her sense of confidence, and be more independent and creative in her daily life. Understanding her body abilities through creative movement, we have developed clothes that allow her the ease of dressing and undressing, which creates a sense of independence for Tilotama,” says Joe, who is based out of Kottayam, Kerala.

The designer’s aim was to create clothes that can be equitably, ecologically and elegantly enjoyed. Joe feels that empathy is a necessary factor when designing clothes for people with special needs. “We need to understand how the person feels and adapt the clothes to their body. It is difficult to club all differently-abled persons and people with reduced mobility into one category of clothes design.

We concentrate on their ability, observe how their body compensates differently, and how this changes their morphology and movement. It is important for people with different abilities to have a better identity. Move Ability Clothing offers well-designed clothes that improve their self-image, develop confidence and also change the way people look at a differently-abled person.

Murielle is also integrating the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda in her approach to personal development,” he adds. Though the perception of one’s body appearance is personal, the duo believes that it is also influenced by societal and cultural attitudes. Their clothing line does not target people with severe disabilities.

“Till now, we have been working on clothes for people with autism and motor function disabilities. Besides the products, Move Ability is also a social initiative that emphasises the need for inclusion in our society. We believe that addressing certain social issues is a necessary step towards a more inclusive and respectful world,” Joe remarks.