I found a perfect person for my project, her name is Laura. She is a 23-year old young woman from Pärnu, who had spina bifida, when she was born. It means that she had a little lump on her back that had to be operated. After the operation her spinal cord was probably injured and she was not able to walk properly. She has already had nine full-body operations during her life.
For walking Laura has to wear legsupporters to walk because after an operation in very young age her foot growth stopped and today her foot size is 26. She can't feel her feet below her ancle and this is why she has big balance disorders and needs someone to be with her when going outside. When she needs to walk long distances, she would better use a wheelchair, because her lower back might start aching and she needs to rest and have a seat.
She says that she can dress herself, but I noticed that all her pants have to be very wide from the below because of the legsupporters. Since she is only 150 cm tall, she needs trousers, that are shorter from the average and they are very hard to find.
Laura usually wears jeans and joggers. This is why I thought it would be nice if she could wear something totally different and on the other hand I must consider the fact that she is growing for the next six months.
I took some notes while meeting her and here are some of my thoughts, moodboards and sketches:
