Vitality
Boning up on fashion with a purpose
Boning up on fashion and the new vision quest
rELEGATED mostly to the interiors of boxes, bubble wrap is truly a useful material, yet leads a mundane existence– until now. The cushy plastic had a moment to snap, crack le and pop as the most unorthodox of fashion fabrics to come down the runway at Toronto Fashion Week. Canadian designer David Dixon took the inexpensive protective wrap and turned it into a few fashion-forward runway pieces, shown alongside his Fall 2019 collection. This wasn’t one of those silly reality television design challenges but, rather, the use of fashion to drive home an important health message.
The designer, in a collaboration with Osteoporosis Canada, created Bübl x David Dixon, which aimed to raise awareness regarding the risks and other issues of osteoporosis. Although most of us understand that this disease can dangerously affect bone health, what many of us might not know is that it continues to be under-diagnosed and under-recognized. In fact, approximately two million Canadians are impacted by osteoporosis, yet many still aren’t aware that they’re at risk or of its implications.
“Fashion is a universal language, and bubble wrap is the universal symbol for protection,” says Dr. Famida Jiwa, president and CEO of Osteoporosis Canada, of the organization’s foray into the world of fashion, allowing the health organization to creatively reach a wider and more diverse audience. There is a reason osteoporosis is often referred to as the “silent thief” because the disease can weaken bones without any signs or symptoms. “And bone loss can start early,” says Jiwa. Sometimes, she adds, it’s only when someone breaks a bone that they discover the onset of the disease. Incidentally, if you fall from your standing height, your bones should not break.
While a garment made of bubble wrap may not realistically protect us from frail bones, knowing the risks at an earlier stage in life can help create a strategy that just might “bubble wrap” our bones a bit better from the typical thinning outcome that results in more porous, hence weaker, bones. Diet, exercise and awareness can all be a part of the plan for better bone health. For his part, Dixon’s runway pieces skipped the mundane with a cool futuristic intergalactic vibe – such as his opera coat with dramatic sleeves fashioned entirely out of the airy material. But, more to the point, he used the material to highlight the most at-risk areas. With panels of the plastic hanging from a skirt down the thighbone like tulip petals and strips running along the spine, it’s an ingenious melding of message and design. To find out if osteoporosis is a threat to your health, complete a simple Osteoporosis
Canada quiz at osteoporosis.ca/risk and work with your physician to reduce the risk.