Victoria Jenkins is a garment technologist with many years’ experience in the fashion industry who became Disabled in her 20s (now 37). She founded Unhidden in 2017, a collection of adaptive and inclusive clothing (both elegant and relaxed wear) after a chance encounter with a woman with cancer that changed the course of her life.
Underlines finds out more about Victoria and her ambitions. She has also become a vocal spokesperson and media personality in her drive to publicise the demand and need for adaptive clothing, being interviewed multiple times by TV channels, national and local newspapers, business and economic journals. She has also faced the dragons in Dragon’s Den earlier this year. She regularly shows Unhidden Clothing during London Fashion Week. Underlines finds out more.
“I graduated in 2008 after studying fashion design and have worked in fashion as a garment technologist/pattern cutter ever since. She founded Unhidden Clothing as an inclusive and adaptive clothing line for all genders.
Victoria Jenkins (photo: Deb Burrows)
How did it all start?
“I had a nearly life-threatening incident, an undiagnosed ulcer burst in 2012. That led to lots of hospital admissions and other surgeries and sorts. So that’s why my ‘aha’ moment did actually happen in hospital.
“I was on a ward with this incredible woman who had survived ovarian cancer, but was left with two stomas and a line in her arm and she was there to have a medical line for her chest. And… it wasn’t just that, she couldn’t dress in hospital. She had to take everything off every time the doctors came around. And with so many things going on, it was generally at least six people and invariably male as well. So there was a modesty and dignity side to the light bulb moment as well. She couldn’t dress how she wanted to at home and going out to social events, she just always felt like she wasn’t herself and had to wear t-shirts and jogging bottoms so that she could access various parts of her or just to stop it from being painful.
“So I started researching from a hospital bed and I saw people were really trying to fill a need, but I didn’t feel like it represented what this woman was looking for. It wasn’t very sustainable. It was all very Teflon. It was designed from a point of view of a carer, not from the wearer’s perspective. And then the idea just didn’t leave basically, so I kept at it.”
Your proudest moment to date?
“I feel very privileged to be able to say there are so many – walking out to do my TedX talk is up there as one of the scariest things I have done that I was proud of after… But Unhidden’s first solo runway show probably takes the top spot for impact and pride!”
Collaborations in clothing?
“We have partnered with Lucy & Yak to adaptively ‘upcycle’ their unsold stock which has had a phenomenal response. We are working on partnerships with We are We Wear, Will Perry and more… We can’t share all of the collaborations just yet but we feel very positive about the future of adaptive fashion.”
A Typical Week…in your life
“A typical week for me is actually… Chaos! Things move so quickly now that enforcing a routine has become vital but harder to manage. Mondays and Tuesdays are usually meeting days whether in person or virtual. Wednesdays are meant to be rest days but often end up being speaker/lecture/event attending days. Thursdays and Fridays we try to get creative and make plans and check in on how the team is doing and plan for the following week/month as well as even further down the line. I mean we try but with a mostly part time team who are remote we tend to be more flying by the seat of our pants each week and that has been our typical for a while now.”
Those Special Moments in your career
“Graduating (although a very long time ago now!) was a special moment as most of my family were there to watch and it was the end of that first stage towards a career in fashion. Being headhunted for Allsaints and then Victoria Beckham were ‘pinch me’ moments. Everything to do with Unhidden has been special – from sketching to first samples to photoshoots and runways and all the random things I have done to get to this point. All of it was special because it all got me here, today. Even nearly losing my life in 2012- I call that a gift because it has given me something back I didn’t think I’d get from the industry- purpose.”
Any idea where you will be in 10 years time? Any ambitions in other clothing e.g. underwear!!
“I have no idea – I have goals for sure, I’d love a bricks and mortar store in more than 1 location and even more than 1 country – to show in other countries for fashion week. To offer solutions in every type of clothing. I hope to be in a position to platform other adaptive designers, pay for scholarships, be part of policy change in the industry and make Unhidden a truly global lifestyle brand. Big goals.
What is your greatest challenge?
Ableism and digital ableism. There are so many ways I am impacted as a business owner but also as a brand in terms of reach- there is still a lot of fear and stigma around disability and chronic sickness and so much segregation. It feels at times like a massive mountain to climb but there is movement and momentum. Resources of course are the other biggest hurdle- it’s a tough climate to be a start up in.
Your biggest mistake?
Working (and paying) a marketing agency that wasn’t fully up to speed on adaptive and inclusive language- it was a lot of money to spend with no return and I would have been better off using that money elsewhere.
The one product you cannot live without?
If we’re talking Unhidden then it is either the wrap twill trousers that I live in or my jersey culottes! If we’re talking generally.. Then it’s sleep sprays and essential oils- there’s an oil for everything! Mood, sleep, relaxation, energising…
Time out?
When I have it (which feels rare!) I like to read, paint, see friends, or do ‘nothing at all’ i.e. sleep! Free time invariably is taken up with rest or events and it’s hard to balance that as well – not to do too much outside of work to make work impossible, but not so little socially that all I do is work!
To find out more about Unhidden and are interested in collaborations, contact Zelda on Zelda@unhiddenclothing.com
