CLOTHES MAKE THE woman
Inspired by her type 1 diagnosis, Natalie Balmain created a diabetic-friendly fashion line
Do you ever stare at your wardrobe wondering what you’re going to wear today? What would be the easiest option to ensure you can easily access your skin for an injection? Or what clothes have big enough pockets to carry your insulin pump without a bulge?
No-one knows that feeling better than UK-based fashion designer and creative behind
Type 1 Clothing, Natalie Balmain. Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 20, Natalie – who was then a part-time model and stylist – found it easiest to wear loose or stretchy clothing that could easily be pulled down to inject, rather than taking advantage of her full wardrobe and the clothes received as a model. “Feeling restricted in your clothing choices may seem trivial to some, but after a while it really has an impact on your self-esteem and emotional wellbeing,” she explains. “I didn’t feel attractive in what I was wearing, but I was too burned- out to deal with the fuss of wearing nice clothes and having to traipse off to public bathrooms every time I had to inject.”
It wasn’t until she re-noticed a little hole in the side seam of her trousers that she had been meaning to fix that an idea began to grow. “I did my injection through the little hole and I thought, actually this little flaw worked!” says Natalie.
“I wondered if I could apply this to other clothes and then I looked to see if anything like that – with little openings for diabetics – had been made, and there just wasn’t anything.”
Natalie took the excitement and ideas influenced by her own struggles to pen and paper, and began designing this self-funded project in September 2015. Less than two years later, the first collection of Type 1 Clothing was launched.
Designing, sourcing the fabrics and running the business herself, the dream of Type 1 Clothing was brought to life with the help of Parveen Cosr, a technical specialist who creates patterns from the designs, cuts and stitches everything in the womenswear line, and advises on practical issues.
“What I really hoped for when designing this collection was that these clothes might make people’s lives a little easier, make them smile and feel good about themselves,” explains Natalie. “And hopefully that would
have a positive impact on their emotional wellbeing and, in turn, their ability to self-manage their condition and take care of themselves.”
Initially influenced by her own experiences, Natalie is constantly engaging with the Diabetes Online Community to discuss everyday frustrations of multiple daily injections and pumpwearing to better tailor her line.
“So many girls spoke to me of their frustrations of trying to find a dress that could accommodate their pump, or the awkwardness of injecting in public,” she says.
The collection – currently offering 12 womenswear items, including jeans, skirts, dresses and jumpsuits – features zips or slits for easy injection access, alongside special pockets that can hold insulin pumps and enable tubing to easily feed through the clothes. “It’s very easy to trivialise these things,” says Natalie.
“But when you have to manage something like type 1 all day every day, with no days off or holidays, anything that makes your life a little easier, or helps you to feel good about yourself, can make a massive difference.”
Natalie hopes to expand Type 1 Clothing to include both a junior and men’s line in the future.
“My junior denim line is currently in early stage production,” she says. “And I hope to have these out by early next year, at which point I will start work on the men’s collection.”
The success of the twowoman team has been seen through the overwhelmingly positive response to their line, with orders and messages from across the world. “I think receiving a tweet from Chelsea Clinton [daughter of Hillary Clinton who, although she does not have diabetes, does a lot of advocacy and awareness work in the area of diabetes] was definitely a highlight,” says Natalie. And, of course, it remains very personal. “I cried the first time I saw someone wearing my one of designs,” she says.