It's all about MOB

MOB has an ambitious mission: the democratization of fashion.

MOB stands for an inclusive understanding of fashion.

MOB engages in research and development for adaptive lifestyles.

MOB, short for German “Mode ohne Barrieren,” literally means: “fashion without barriers”. This means that MOB thinks fashion and disability together right from the start and fosters innovative implementation strategies in product development, advertising, sales, and customer care. MOB therefore joins forces with young fashion labels, the goal: functionality and aesthetics at the cutting edge.

MOB puts an end to the one-sided emphasis on medical aspects and the sole focus on solving technical problems. Adaptive clothing is just as much a question of fashions and styles, biographies and professions, cultures and attitudes.

FASHION VICTIMS, WATCH OUT!

IT'S TIME FOR SOME FASHION TROUBLE!

Your products are made to satisfy the needs of wheelchair users, what needs to be taken into consideration when it comes to the design?!

Due to their design, technical functions, and ergonomic cut MOB products

• make un/dressing easier, faster, and more pleasant
• enhance the autonomy of wheelchair users because less or no assistance is needed
• are a better fit because they are optimized for body shapes of wheelchair users

Wheelchair users are significantly involved in the development of MOB collections, how is this process?

MOB invites young designers to develop adaptive fashion for wheelchair users together with wheelchair users, every item is then adapted for non-wheelchair users.

The result is either

• a single All Inclusive model that fits the requirements of both types of users
• or two models called Standard for wheelchair users and Companion for non- wheelchair users

MOB thus turns the usual procedure upside down: The requirements of wheelchair users (Standards) are the norm which is then adapted for non-wheelchair users (Companions).

What are your biggest inspirations when creating your collections?

To be able to express themselves and not feel excluded, to dress and undress in an easier, faster, and more pleasant way with as much personal autonomy as possible, people with disabilities need more than functional clothes. They need adaptive fashion that is as diverse as they are.

We see people with disabilities as important partners and valued clients. Therefore, every product development starts with bringing together users and designers.

MOB assists and manages this sensitive collaborative development process and provides

• state-of-the-art technologies (innovative magnetic closures, zippers, button systems)
• cutting-edge research (philosophy, disability studies, gender studies)

Try to think of people with disabilities in the design, because that's how

• a steady influx of new approaches to adaptive fashion is achieved
• more designers are sensitized to disability concerns
• competence in adaptive fashion is distributed in the fashion scene

What does inclusivity mean to you?

Adaptive clothing currently available on the market comes primarily from the clinical and technical sectors. The one-sided limitation to technical functionality and the “functional aesthetics” associated with it paradoxically hinders the inclusion of people with disabilities, as they are reduced to a one-dimensional "disability". MOB addresses this form of aesthetic discrimination with practical and fashion-oriented apparel – as part of a new vision of diverse adaptive lifestyles.

When it comes to adaptive garments the negligence of design can have severe effects for people with disabilities, because

• they are seen less as individuals but are reduced to "being disabled"
• not being able to be dressed appropriately can diminish career opportunities at the workplace and can have excluding effects in their free time
• clothing is an essential component of self-expression

How could the fashion world be more inclusive? Beyond photo campaigns.

MOB is food for thought and close to the arts: MOB encourages people to rethink fashion, bodies, lifestyles. This is why MOB feels near to the arts. Just as artistic practices constantly reinvent the meaning of what is supposed to inhabit its core (a certain subject, a distinct technique), MOB strives to never fully define who is supposed to wear its garments—or in other words: what a human being is.

We put the fun in function: Design strategies and functions embrace the creative use of garments by users that was not necessarily intended by the makers. New design solutions for one group may offer valuable benefits for other groups as well.

Why do you think brands should go circular/sustainable?
Do you believe that more brands should join our circulatory system? Why?

The fashion industry of today should not fit for purpose anymore. The circular economy can bring many advantages to the fashion industry

• better services for customers
• better consumer sustainability sentiment
• contributes to a thriving fashion industry

More brands should respond to this as a way to reach a target audience they wouldn't have reached before.