He said: “This is indeed a hard work…just to find something suitable for plastic surgery.”

Lingard suffers from arthromalacia, a condition that restricts joint mobility and causes muscle weakness. As a result, it is difficult to find shoes of the right size, and it is also difficult to maneuver around the shoes supported on his legs.

Lingard said those difficulties are not uncommon for people with disabilities. Therefore, when Nike announced the release of its latest version of FlyEase (allowing the wearer to wear it without bending over or even arms at all), he knew he needed a pair.

But even though Go FlyEase has been touted as a “shoe for everyone” by Sarah Reinersten, head of design, Lingard said the opposite is true. Although this pair of shoes could have been the best for people with disabilities, it was released in limited quantities and snatched away by dealers.

He said: “I’m very excited to see them add inclusiveness to their shoes.” “This is huge for me. When I saw how it was launched, it really disappointed me.”

Lingard soon came to TikTok to post the irony about ironic shoes, that the community would not be able to get the most out of it. In the video that spread quickly, he explained how difficult it is for people with physical disabilities to buy shoes.

In an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), he and others talked about how this situation highlights the issues specific to the adaptive fashion industry and the people who rely on it.

Watch | TikTok sneaker fans are disappointed with Nike’s launch of barrier-free shoes:

TikTok content creator Louie Lingard is excited about the release of Nike’s FlyEase shoe, which is touted as an accessible option for people with disabilities. But because resellers pushed prices up by hundreds of dollars, he was dissatisfied with the way Nike plans to launch. 1:47

“Really popular”, but resold for $500

Adaptive fashion means designing clothing for people with limited mobility, range of motion, or other disabilities.

When promoting Go FlyEase, Nike did not use the term “disability” and did not specifically target the community market-despite the fact that it was originally designed for them.

Designer Haley Toelle (Haley Toelle) said in the news video announcing the release of the shoe: “The initial concept surrounding the shoe is to better support the adaptable athletes.” “During the whole process, we I soon discovered that the shoes are indeed universal.”

The first version of FlyEase specifically required the wearer to use a zipper around the back of the shoe. Inspired by Matthew Walzer. Student athlete Walzer found it difficult to tie shoelaces because he had only one hand with elasticity due to cerebral palsy.

Watch | What is behind the design of Nike Go FlyEase:

However, Lingard said that the current version of this pair of shoes is far from its origins. By treating the shoes in the same way that Nike treats other versions, prices have skyrocketed, and the only pair of shoes currently available is as high as $500.

The limited sale of shoes to measure interest or drive demand is not a unique strategy. Lingard said that many footwear companies have adopted similar technologies when launching new product lines, including Nike.

Lingard said that this should not be the strategy here.

He said: “I think that with these shoes, people should benefit from the shoes, because people can benefit from them.”

This is because, no matter what Nike’s name is, Lingard says that these shoes are a model of adaptive fashion.Nike has not yet responded to CBC’s request for comment, but it has Said before The wider launch of Go FlyEase will take place later this year.

Adapt to the emerging world of fashion

Canadian fashion designer Izzy Camilleri has similar views on this situation, but she thinks there is a silver lining to the launch of this pair of shoes.

Camillery designed wardrobes for names like David Bowie, Angelina Jolie, Daniel Radcliffe and Meryl Streep, in 2005, in the Toronto Star reporter Barbara After La Turnbull asked her to design clothes that she could wear while working in the office, her focus shifted from high fashion to adaptive clothing. wheelchair.

Camilleri explained that people using wheelchairs may have different requirements for clothing design-whether it is easy to wear or comfortable to wear when sitting down.

But despite the fact that by 2023, the global adaptive fashion and apparel market may reach 349.9 billion U.S. dollars According to research and consulting firm Coresight ResearchCamilleri said that most people don’t even know it exists.

Camilleri said: “Even people in need are not even aware of the choices that exist there.” “Therefore, there are some educational tasks that we need to work hard on.”

Camilleri said the most important thing is that advertising for adaptive clothing also adds barriers.

In 2018, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development accused advertisers of using Facebook’s advertising platform to illegally restrict which users receive housing-related advertisements, including people with disabilities. Soon after, Facebook removed more than 5,000 targeting options to help prevent abuse, and also required all advertisers to comply with its non-discrimination policy.

Since then, adaptive fashion retailers including Camilleri have talked about their ads Can be identified as discriminatory It is only used to target people with disabilities or show medical equipment.

Camilleri said: “When we post articles, they will continue to be deleted until we correct them.”

This may inhibit their ability to reach customers and spread the awareness of even the existence of adaptive fashion.

So, while advertising that will market Go FlyEase exclusively as adaptive fashion would be ideal, marketing to everyone may increase understanding of it-which can cement the field, Camilleri said.

She said: “Maybe Nike may take a different approach, but the entire accessible and adaptable market is still in its infancy.” “It’s really challenging. It’s really very, very difficult.”

Gradual, extensive change

When the market was still young, more and more big brands entered the market. Like Nike, Tommy Hilfiger (Tommy Hilfiger) has a complete range of adaptability, as does the American shoe and clothing retailer Zappos.

Christina Mallon is the chief brand officer of Open Style Lab, a non-profit organization that helps people with disabilities design adaptive fashion. She praised all brands that embrace adaptive fashion, including Nike.

When she was 22 years old, Mallon’s arm was paralyzed due to motor neuron disease. She said that since then, she had to come up with creative ways to accomplish seemingly simple tasks, because “the world was not created with disabled people in mind.”

She said it’s exciting to see the gradual shift in adaptive fashion becoming more and more common, she said. She said that fashion has ignored the issues that people with disabilities have to face every day, so seeing a technology like Go FlyEase as everyone’s choice for marketing may suggest broader changes.

“People don’t know how difficult buttons are for people with limited flexibility. Mullen gives an example.” But why do the buttons remain in their original state? Why can’t buttons be just magnets? …I think designers need to ask themselves those questions. “

She still said that the fact that Go FlyEase sold out so quickly and probably not sold to the disabled is worrying. Looking to the future, they can correct this error by allowing non-profit organizations representing people with disabilities to get supplies first, or open source shoemaking technology so that people can create it themselves.

Mallon said that no matter what happens to these shoes, it is vital to adapt to the world to make it easier to use. Because regardless of your current level of travel, this situation may change over time.

Mullen said: “Every single person becomes disabled at some point in life.” “So even if you don’t care about the disabled, you will become disabled at some point in your life, so you should care about it. .”