The incredible story behind the first inclusive clothing brand

Está de moda la palabra “resiliencia”. El concepto tiene que ver con la capacidad de las personas para recuperarse de situaciones difíciles y, a pesar de todo, seguir avanzando hacia el futuro. Pero esa definición sola no dice demasiado. Salvo que venga acompañada de una historia.

“At one point I told myself, do I get in bed or fight it?And I decided to fight it, ”describes Miriam Nujimovich to the crossroads that due to a destination pass resulted in the creation of the first inclusive clothing mark in Argentina.But to get there first you have to rewind.

It ran 2010, Miriam lived in Miami with her family.I worked in the world of art, and usually passed it stressed.Until he suffered a stroke (stroke).He was 45 years old, and his son just 9.

Did not present any risk factor: only stress.But he entered the hospital with a very serious picture, and in fact he spent two months hospitalized, 60 days during which he did not understand what happened to his body or his mind.

Three days after leaving the wheelchair hospital, a plane was taken to Argentina.Together with his son he stayed at his parents' house although he could hardly speak, nor was he able to move the right part of his body.But there was something that was beating, something that pushed her to continue trying, something to fight."In spite of everything, I was positive.I created a breastplate, like a gladiator, ”he explains, and with his words he gives another channel to the idea of" resilience ".

The comfort that is a trend

Miriam had to learn again to speak, to walk, to eat.And the only act of dressing was an odyssey.It was precisely during a trip that this difficulty rushed the spark.

“For that trip I crossed my lousy idea of taking a closing jacket.I had to ask my ten -year -old son to help me, ”he recalls.And I thought: ‘This is enough.Isn't there a business that offers adapted clothes?Then you have to start it ’.My son came up with the name.And that's how Handy started ".

They returned, the project began to roll.Miriam commissioned her dressmaker, the same that always made the pants arena, to prove some garments.They took to work and put velcros sewing where there were buttons, elastic with eyes, to create corpiños that close forward, divers with tears in the sleeves and also jeans that open on the sides and are higher behind, which is much more comfortable for those who use a wheelchair.“There are many details that make these garments, in fact it is their conception from scratch.You can't talk about inclusive clothes to put two closures, ”says Miriam.

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The store took off and the public was increasing.Since 2016 Miriam dedicates full time to your company, the brand that has the purpose of including those who exclude others.

All people, all bodies

"I offer many, many sizes.But not only for that Handy is an inclusive brand, but because it takes care of responding to what a very broad and very diverse audience needs.In fact, now we are going to launch a line of pajamas for all, have any disability, or maybe they are touched with an entered arm.Our purpose is really to integrate everyone thinking both comfort and sizes, gender and price, ”Miriam gets excited.

Handy brings the project to weave alliances with different stores so that they can also offer this type of clothing, since other completely inclusive firms do not exist in the Argentine market.

The brand is not only the first SME of the Argentine market that looked into inclusion, but it is also a triple impact company."Everything I can do sustainable, I make it sustainable," says Miriam and explains that the garments are made in decent workshops- contacted through NGOs sewing networks and the alameda- the packaging is biodegradable of corn, recycled paper labels andDiscarding fabrics from other companies.

What the firm seeks goes beyond selling garments: it has to do with opening the conversation towards body diversity thinking the body in a dynamic way, since it can be modified over time and by different factors that transform its representationon the social level.That is why Handy proposes to understand the body as the support of our own experiences that at the same time configure it and change it.

"I am very flying," Miriam confesses when sharing his projects."I would like Handy to mark a change, to be able to show us that we are all the same," he reflects and ultimately that is the core of inclusion: our ability to represent and give a better response to the leafy, rich and fascinating human diversity.

You can see all the garments on the web and follow them on their social networks.

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Content Lab is the Unit of Generation of Ideas and Contents of the Nation for brands with distribution in their digital platforms and social networks.This content was produced for an advertiser and published by the Content Lab.The writing of the nation was not involved in the generation of this content.