ZALANDO ADAPTIVE
In 2023, 100 million Europeans were living with disabilities.
With an ageing population, that number was only growing.
The fashion industry ignored them, and the shopping experience wasn’t designed to help them.
How could we change this for good?
Beginning with the basics
We started with research: talking to users, disabled-owned brands and disability inclusion consultants.
And workshopped across all teams and markets to define out guiding principles.
Defining the ‘what’
We had to be clear on what we were offering — and why customers should care.
Working with merchandising, marketing and brand teams, I translated features into benefits, defining the proposition.
Guiding the ‘how’
Sometimes, the desire to not offend can lead us to tiptoe around disability, or talk to people at a distance.
I developed comms principles to define how we'd talk to customers.
With respect for their needs, but without treating them as 'special'.
Creating the structure
A big challenge was to make the experience easy to understand, navigate and scale.
I created a content design system to define information hierarchies, categorisation of content, and clear communication of features and benefits.
Writing. Rewriting. Repeating.
After the foundational work, I helped two writers explore ways to structure and craft our words, present to various teams, and iterate with feedback.
Until we distilled it down to what customers really needed.
Style first. For all.
Our structured approach, wide collaboration, and constant iterations brought us to a solution we could be proud of.
One that presented fashion as joyful and inclusive, solving everyday problems with style.
Raising the bar
We launched the first phase of the product in October 2022, and it quickly got us in the news, globally.
“Exceptional example of leadership and commitment to disability inclusion” - TIME magazine
“Game changing movement towards making adaptive products more accessible” - Forbes
More importantly, we received overwhelmingly positive feedback from the disability community, including our partners, creators, and, of course, our customers.