Blending innovation and inclusivity into every seam: A conversation with Victoria Jenkins, founder of pioneering adaptive fashion brand, Unhidden

In a world where it’s easier to find clothing collections for dogs than for the 20% of the world’s population with disabilities, Victoria Jenkins is leading a transformative movement. As the visionary founder of Unhidden , the socially conscious, adaptive fashion brand, she’s transformed the fashion industry’s norms by championing inclusivity as a driver of innovation.

Victoria, an award-winning designer and disability advocate, has over 16 years of experience in the fashion industry. Becoming disabled in her twenties was the catalyst for creating Unhidden, the first fashion brand of its kind to become a member of the prestigious British Fashion Council. Victoria’s commitment to inclusivity has also seen her featured in British Vogue’s ‘The Vogue 25’ and Vogue Business’s ‘100 Innovators’ list.

Beyond her role as a designer, Victoria is also co-host of Channel 4's The Unique Boutique and a TEDx speaker.

Her brand, Unhidden, launched in 2020, immediately attracted interest for its desire to create stylish and accessible clothing for people with disabilities.
In 2023, Victoria’s journey was further recognised when she was named the UK’s second most influential disabled person at the Shaw Trust Disability 100 Awards. The judges praised her for embedding innovation into every seam, breaking down barriers and weaving the inclusivity of fashion into the very fabric of society.

Through Unhidden, Victoria Jenkins is working to redefine disability representation, ensuring that inclusivity remains at the heart of fashion innovation. We spoke to Victoria about her journey, combining design, inclusivity, adaptability, and social and environmental responsibility, as well as her mission to transform the traditional fashion show.

You registered the Unhidden brand in 2017 and officially launched the brand in 2020. What was the biggest challenge you faced during this time and how did you overcome it?

The biggest challenge was probably having the confidence to do it; having an idea and working on it is one thing - putting it out into the world and sharing it is completely different! I was so afraid of not knowing enough, and that's what was holding me back from starting: the fear of missing out. I've since learned that in the startup world, many of us are making it up as we go along and when faced with different challenges, I'm now able to adapt more quickly. I've also taken a lot of courses and invested time and money into the areas that scared me. There are also a lot of amazing free resources for this now.

In 2023, Unhidden is getting the recognition it deserves, with features in Vogue and Fast Company (to name a few). You’ve also hosted your own fashion shows at London Fashion Week. The first one in autumn/winter 2023 was actually the first ever adapted fashion show in London. Can you pick a highlight from the past year, or was it a series of moments?

The past year... It's amazing how quickly it has gone by and the progress that has been made. The very first show in February will always hold a special place in my heart because it wasn't originally planned to do shows - I didn't even dare to hope that I would be able to organize a solo show in the official calendar as an official brand/designer!

It was (and still is) more important to me to bring adaptive fashion into department stores, but in terms of representation, it meant so much, not only to me, but to the models and everyone who attended or got to see previews, because they had never seen their own representation in this type of event before. To follow that up with the second show and a brand new cast of models in September was just as incredible.

There have been so many other important moments too; I feel incredibly spoiled because every moment or media article represents all the invisible work and helps get the message across.

 

What is the next step in your mission to raise awareness among as many people as possible about the need to make adapted clothing but also to make these clothes more accessible to people with disabilities?

The next mission is to expand in terms of our offerings. I have a background in tailoring, so I want to incorporate outerwear! I’m also really keen to launch adaptive clothing for children, so that’s mainly what we’ll be working on this year, but there’s also a much bigger show in September and more designs going into production. There’s a lot I can’t talk about yet, but it gives me a lot of hope for the future of our community.

We are currently hosting an event with Models of Diversity for Fashion Week in February where we will be talking about the importance of a diverse industry. Even when we are not showing, it is important that we continue to be a part of events that focus on as many intersections as possible and work to make the fashion industry and the world a better and more inclusive place.

Your clothing is known for its social responsibility, and you have even taken the Love Stock Hate Waste* pledge. What other actions do you take on a daily basis to be sustainable and have a positive impact on communities?

We waste absolutely nothing, and I am proud to say it! Every sample, every prototype, I keep them all. We do not overproduce and I want to try to grow only when the demand is really there, no matter who we partner with.

We are working to put systems and partnerships in place to be able to offer upcycling**, to rework old clothes into new ones - by actually doing it, not saying it and shipping it to another country... Transparency will only grow as our supply chain grows.

I want to share the stories of the people who work with us and make our range possible, because there is still a very real disconnect between ‘factory worker’ and ‘garment professional’. There is no such thing as a garment made entirely without human intervention – something some people seem to forget – which is why we need to put humans at the heart of what we do.

The fashion world has been talking more and more about diversity and sustainability in recent years, but what change have you seen in adaptive clothing since launching Unhidden?

I haven't seen much change, to be honest, other than more adaptive designers and students now entering the market, which is fantastic.
Disability is unfortunately rarely, if ever, discussed in sustainable fashion panels, and it’s the same in the thought processes or marketing campaigns. So, so far, it’s disappointing, but I’m really hopeful that soon the cry will be so loud that they will have to do it – and I know some incredible pioneers who are working hard to be more inclusive.

What advice would you give to other aspiring pioneers who want to follow in your footsteps?

Know your market and where you are in it, and then go for it. Knowledge is key. Those in this field have to be activists and designers, because they have to spend half their time explaining why it is necessary to do it, and then say how and what they are actually doing to meet the different needs.

Every designer has something unique to bring to the table. Try not to look at competitors but at colleagues and find out where you differentiate yourself; it may just be aesthetic in the end, whatever, focus on that. Of course, I would like every person to love every piece of clothing I design, but that is not realistic at all, and none of us shop with just one brand for life. This community needs and wants choice. So we need more people to create that choice – existing and new brands.

*The Love Stock Hate Waste campaign encourages companies (producers, importers, distributors) to find alternative solutions to manage their unsold stocks, rather than throwing them away or destroying them.

** Upcycling involves transforming existing objects or materials by giving them a new function, while recycling involves converting used materials into raw materials to create new ones.

Links:

Unhidden: https://unhiddenclothing.com