Coralville brand Eightfold Fox is making adaptive fashion clothing accessible to Iowans. The garment contains parts made for people with physical disabilities.
Johnny Jarnagin
Fox (They, They) owner of Fox, describing an item of clothing on August 26, 2022 at Trunks Thrift Store
After Coralville resident K. Fox couldn’t find comfortable clothing to wear with an upset stomach in fast fashion stores, they created their own brand – Eightfold Fox.
“Obviously, I gravitated towards providing that [the clothes] they didn’t squeeze my stomach and they weren’t one size at a time because that’s too uncomfortable for me with my digestive disorder,” Fox said. “You can adjust it to whatever size you are that day and it will you think it’s fantastic.”
The two-year-old online brand is bringing adaptive clothing to Iowa City and surrounding communities.
Eightfold Fox is based in Coralville and specializes in clothing designed and adapted for those with physical disabilities. Fox’s passion for fit in fashion stemmed from a need for clothing that accommodated tummy aches, Fox said.
Fox’s first worked as director of speech-language pathology at a private clinic in Connecticut. Fox didn’t always plan to design adaptive clothing; rather, it was born out of necessity, they said.
Eightfold Fox customer Tara McGovern said the clothing is designed in a way that helps with all kinds of disabilities and issues.
Fox’s clothing features pieces tailored for people living with arthritis, fine motor impairments, sensory needs, Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome and other conditions.
“I don’t have a physical reason that I specifically need adaptive clothing – other than some sensory issues – but the fact that Fox is able to adapt to people’s individual needs is so valuable and important and they understand how to clothes work. us,” they said.
The need for adaptive clothing affects a large number of people. One in four American adults lives with a disability, and six in ten live with a chronic illness, as of 2020.
“They are all adjustable. For example, the gathered skirt has a certain girth in the front and is gathered in a band,” said Fox. “It has a flat band, which prevents you from having that really gathered look that they can have. a lot of things with wires. But it gathers in the back with a drawstring.”
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Susan Abrahams, another Eightfold Fox customer, appreciates how the clothing carried is not only functional but also fashionable.
“The clothes are beautiful, they’re well made and they’re comfortable,” Abrahams said. “It’s hard to find things that don’t look like moo moos.”
Fox makes every item by hand and to order, giving shoppers the ability to customize the fabric, size and length of the items they are purchasing. This includes the option for ethical items made from 100 percent recycled fabric, buttons and other materials.
McGovern said they also enjoy the durability factor of Eightfold Fox clothing.
“I really like the option of using ethical fabric which is usually recycled fabric,” McGovern said. “It could be like the end pieces.”
In addition to being tailored for physical needs, the clothing is gender neutral – not marketed as men’s or women’s clothing.
“Fox is very careful about how their clothes are presented in terms of gender. Nothing is gender specific, which is really important to me.” McGovern said. “So [the clothing is] not only adaptive in the sense of physical disability, but also adaptive in the sense of gender performance.”
Two years into making the clothing, Fox is still working on expanding their business, hoping to make adaptive clothing more accessible.
“I started posting about my experience with this online and the response was overwhelming,” Fox said. “People send me private messages saying, ‘Hey, did you know that what you’re designing would work for my disability?’ It’s been great to have all these people reach out to me.”
