Eightfold Fox, a Coralville brand, makes fashion-compatible clothing accessible to the people of Iowa. Clothing features pieces made for people with disabilities.

Coralville resident K. Fox created his own brand, Eightfold Fox, after he couldn’t find comfortable clothes to wear in fast-fashion stores because of a stomach ailment.

“Naturally, I gravitated towards ensuring that [the clothes] It didn’t weigh on my stomach and didn’t fit in one size at a time. Because it’s very uncomfortable for me with digestive problems,” he said Fox. “You can adjust it to your size for the day and it will look great.”

A two-year-old online brand, the online brand brings adaptable clothing to Iowa City and its surrounding communities.

Eightfold Fox is based in Coralville and specializes in clothing designed and tailored for people with disabilities. Fox’s passion for adaptability in fashion stemmed from a need for clothing that accommodated stomachaches, Fox said.

Mr. Fox originally worked as a director of speech-language pathology at a private practice clinic in Connecticut. Fox didn’t always plan to design adaptable clothing. Rather, they said, it was born out of necessity.

Eightfold Fox customer Tara McGovern says the garment is designed to help with all kinds of disabilities and problems.

Fox clothing features pieces suitable for people with arthritis, fine movement disorders, sensory needs, Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and other conditions.

“There is no physical reason why adaptive clothing is particularly necessary, aside from a few sensory issues, but the fact that Fox can adapt to people’s individual needs is very valuable and important. They understand how clothing should work. We,” they said.

The need for adaptable clothing affects many people. As of 2020, 1 in 4 American adults has a disability, and 6 in 10 have a chronic illness.

“Everything is adjustable. For example, a gathered skirt has a constant circumference in the front and gathers at the waistband,” says Fox. “It has a flat waistband, so it doesn’t look messy like many drawstrings.

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Another Eightfold Fox customer, Susan Abrahams, appreciates that the garments carried are not only functional but also fashionable.

“The clothes are beautiful, well made, and comfortable,” said Abrahams. “It’s hard to find anything that doesn’t look like Mumu.”

Fox handcrafts each item to order, giving shoppers the option to customize the fabric, size and length of the item they purchase. This includes options for ethical items made from 100% recycled fabrics, buttons, and other materials.

McGovern said he also enjoys the sustainability of Eightfold Fox clothing.

“I really like the option of using ethical fabrics, which are usually repurposed fabrics,” McGovern said.

Not only are the clothes tailored to your physical needs, they are gender neutral and are not marketed as masculine or feminine.

“Fox is very considerate of how clothing is presented in terms of gender. What really matters to me is not being particularly gendered,” McGovern said. “yes [the clothing is] It is not only adaptation in terms of physical disability, but also adaptation in terms of gender performance. ”

After two years of making clothing, Fox is still working on expanding its business.

“When I started posting this experience online, the response was overwhelming,” says Fox. “In a personal message, I say, ‘Hey, did you know that what you’re designing works for my disability?’ is wonderful.”