Kohl's Now Offers Adaptive Apparel for Kids and Young Adults

On Wednesday, department store Kohl’s announced a new line of adaptive clothing set to serve infants through young adults. Kohl’s is one of the largest retailers to create an adaptive line of apparel. The clothing is available for purchase through Kohls.com now.

According to a company press release, the retailer added adaptive designs to three of its private kids’ clothing lines, including Jumping Beans, SO and Urban Pipeline. Though the lines do not feature adult options, junior sizes extend to XXL and may fit some adults.

Kohl’s adaptive clothing is largely thanks to Kohl’s technical design manager for kids Judy Koepsel, who has a young daughter with developmental and sensory needs. When designing the new clothing, Koepsel and the rest of Kohl’s design team worked with families with kids who have disabilities or complex medical needs.

“We aligned on what needed to be considered when fitting, such as how a pant fits when sitting down, could the pockets still be used, is the shirt long enough to cover in the back, and so forth,” Koepsel said. “Everyone involved was extremely thoughtful as to how the product would be used.”

The new adaptive lines include features to make clothing easier and more comfortable for those with a wide range of needs, from sensory sensitivities to wheelchair use, medical ports, feeding tubes and easy dressing. Other features include flat seams, wider necks and hemlines, longer length, reinforced belt loops, abdominal access, velcro at leg openings and two-way zippers.

It was also important to the Kohl’s design team that the new adaptive designs were just as fashionable as the rest of the clothing each label creates.

“Just because we are creating clothing for unique needs doesn’t mean that it needs to be basic,” Kara Smoltich, associate product manager for Jumping Beans, said in a press release. “We have made every effort to ensure that the product looks as close to our core line as possible. Everything from graphic artwork to pocket detail is reflective of the brand.”

Prices within the collection range from $8 for an adaptive onesie to $40 for junior women’s adaptive jogger pants. Kohl’s adaptive clothing is available online only through the company’s website.