Intotum: Redefining Adaptive Fashion for a More Inclusive World

We delve into the inspiring story behind BA (Hons) Fashion Design Technology: Womenswear student Hanan Tantush's brand Intotum; a groundbreaking fashion label that recently won the prestigious Mayor's Entrepreneur Award and is making a remarkable impact on the world of adaptive fashion.

In this interview, we sit down with the founder of Intotum, who shares her passion for inclusive fashion and her journey towards creating a clothing range specifically designed for people with disabilities. From the initial inspiration rooted in a personal experience to the brand's commitment to sustainable change, we explore how Intotum is revolutionising the fashion industry by providing easy dressing, everyday comfort, and empowering choices for individuals with diverse needs.

Congratulations on your Mayor's Entrepreneur Award for your fashion label Intotum, please tell us more about your brand.

Thank you! Intotum, meaning everybody, is a clothing range specifically made for people with disabilities, for easy dressing and everyday wear. I feel really passionately about the positive impact inclusive fashion can have and the need for more adaptive fashion (clothing made for specific needs), so I felt my business would be a perfect entry to the mayor’s entrepreneur competition.

As the competition is all about businesses that create sustainable, positive change, each stage required me to expand upon my business idea, the problem it hoped to solve and my solution; functional adaptive clothing that works with your disability. After my video pitch secured me a spot in the top five at the final presentation to a live panel at City Hall, I had to prepare a 2-minute pitch and prepare for an open question time. I have to say this experience was nerve-wracking, especially being a solo founder up against 4 teams but I practised and managed to hold my own in both the pitch and following questions, and of course, it paid off! I was genuinely surprised when Intotum was announced the winner, as despite all my hard work, I was up against some tough competition, and I’m honestly still amazed by the whole experience.

What motivated your decision to launch the clothing line, is there a personal story behind your concept?

Yes, Intotum was actually inspired by my grandad around 5 years ago. After his third battle with cancer, he had to adapt to life with a stoma and urostomy bag, meaning comfort and style no longer became a choice. He had to adjust to the bag and was trying to find comfortable clothes to work with it. I could tell however that his discomfort with clothing was hindering his recovery and knocking his confidence and it made me realise how he mustn’t be alone in this problem.

I have since dedicated my fashion education to adaptive fashion, as I try to create solutions to everyday problems faced by different members of the disabled community. After collaborating with several disability charities, I realised the massive scale of the difficulties faced by the disabled community with current fashion. I decided that I needed to take this a step further and start my business Intotum.

How do you ensure that the designs not only meet specific needs but also provide easy dressing and a sense of comfort, while maintaining a visually inclusive aesthetic?

It's definitely a lot to encompass in one garment, but it has taken a lot of development and user testing to get it right. As my current collection focuses on wheelchair users, I have been collaborating with individuals who use wheelchairs, as well as carers and physiotherapists, all of whom interact with clothing in different ways to identify the problematic areas and get into specifics in order to start creating solutions.

It’s also important to understand diverse perspectives and approach the clothes from various angles for example what the wearer needs vs. what a carer needs. This has resulted in a considered collection of clothing, such as trousers with side zips to access prosthetics, with easier dressing due to Velcro openings at the waist creating a wider opening to pull them on, made from a soft cotton twill with stretch to allow for weight distribution when sat, that look just like cargo pants you could see on the high street.

You mentioned empowerment being a big focus in your work, how do you define and interpret this conception through your designs?

Your clothes empower you every day and being able to have a choice of what to wear and how you present yourself to the world should be an option for everybody. Unfortunately, stylish clothing available on the high street is often uncomfortable or wouldn’t work for a disabled person for a number of reasons and the adaptive options are bland or extremely limited. Therefore, through the conception of Intotum, by creating stylish garments, reflective of high street clothing, with built-in functions, Intotum is elevating what adaptive fashion means and empowering through choice.

In what ways is Intotum contributing to making fashion more sustainable?

Intotum is socially sustainable as it seeks to include a community currently marginalised by the fashion industry and create a space for individuals with disabilities to freely express their personal style and wear clothing with ease. The garments are also environmentally sustainable as all my work is made with recycled fabrics and deadstock materials to reduce the harmful impacts of garment production and create a brand that benefits its customer without harming the planet.

What is the future outlook for Intotum and what are your expansion goals for the brand?

My next steps are definitely looking at finding ethical manufacturing in the UK so that I can get my garments into production. As I grow the business, I really want to grow it as a community platform to promote inclusive fashion and provide a space to discuss all things adaptive fashion. But I’m also looking forward to expanding my clothing range to encompass a vast array of specific needs and customisation so that people can truly find clothing that works for them.

• Find out more about BA (Hons) Fashion Design Technology: Womenswear
• Connect with Graduate Futures
• What’s on at LCF: open days and events
• More LCF Stories