Wheelie beautiful

After only a year in business, WheelieChix is making its name on the catwalks. Kelly Mullan talked to its founder, Louisa Summerfield, about its progress and took a look at its autumn/winter collection

Luckily, WheelieChix managing director Louisa Summerfield thrives under pressure.

“The samples for the Beyond Boundaries show [an annual exhibition of disability products and services] were due to arrive from Turkey two days before the show but the plane crash-landed in Romania. We got the clothes an hour before the show and had to throw the models into them.”
Since launching WheelieChix during London Fashion week a year ago, Louisa Summerfield has been on a learning curve as steep as her plunging necklines.

New to the fashion industry, this former City solicitor turned sex phone-line worker now coordinates the design, manufacture and online retail of her own line of clothes created for women using wheelchairs.

“I have rheumatoid arthritis so I’ve always had problems with dressing. Fastenings were always a pain and then when I became a permanent wheelchair-user it was the shape and things riding up.

“The clothes that were available were, to me, frumpy granny-wear. That’s a big market but it’s not my market. WheelieChix is for young wheelchair-users to feel glamorous and not have to compromise on style.

“The autumn/winter collection is very regal. It’s ‘granny chic’ [self-consciously frumpy rather than unintentionally so], influenced by the New York catwalk. Lots of tea dresses, lots of jersey material with check, lots of chiffon blouses, all with the traits of Wheeliechix: easier openings, magnets for fastenings, trousers higher at the back and lower at the front and, where possible, front fastening.”

Having listened to and acted on customer feedback, Louisa claims: “The autumn/winter collection is much better than before. We’ve taken on criticisms and suggestions from customers.

Sizes only went up to a 16; now they go up to size 22. Others wanted longer dresses so now we have mid-calf skirts and dresses. And they wanted trousers with more elasticity at the waist so we’ve concealed it with shriving.”

Creating clothes for wheelchair-users is a challenge for designers and manufacturers, as Louisa found out at the sample stage. “I’d say, ‘How on earth could you sit in that?’ or, ‘that’s designed for a six-foot woman standing.’ They had fixed ideas and there were a lot of arguments and stress
to get things how I wanted them.

“There aren’t any disabled designers and I needed people with pattern-cutting skills, but now that I’m gaining experience I might take over some of the designing myself and work with the manufacturer.”

After meeting customers at Beyond Boundaries, Louisa has seen the value of off-line retail. “I’m approaching the big department stores to take on WheelieChix. Harrods says it sells everything from a pin to a diamond, so you never know.”