News & Insights

One of the UK’s leading adaptive fashion entrepreneurs has revealed how her partnership with Primark helped expand her brand into 10 countries and 96 stores in just one year.

Speaking at the World Retail Congress in Berlin on Wednesday, Victoria Jenkins, Founder and Chief Executive of Unhidden, shared how her business has grown rapidly through its collaboration with the retailer.

Jenkins said she spent around two years developing four adapted lingerie pieces with Primark before the partnership expanded significantly.

“We made it scale very quickly,” said Jenkins during the conversation with Angela Farrugia, Founder and CEO of Brand x Society. In just one year, the collaboration has grown to 49 products across 10 countries and 96 stores.

“They’ve been incredible to work with,” she said. “It’s very rare you get to do something good that also makes money.”

Unhidden designs inclusive clothing aimed at people living with disabilities or chronic illnesses. Jenkins said she was inspired to launch the business following her own experience of disability and conversations with fellow patients while in hospital.

“There is a lot you can do to clothes to make them more accessible,” she said, highlighting the scale of the market opportunity, Jenkins emphasised that one in four people live with a disability.

“One in four is not niche - and that is only the people who consider themselves disabled. We don’t even consider temporary disability like a broken leg. Or even if you have a newborn baby and have to get dressed with one hand,” she added.

She said adaptive design can include simple changes such as adding loops to garments to make them easier to pull up, as well as seated trousers designed specifically for wheelchair users. Looking ahead, Jenkins said she hopes Primark will eventually offer next-day delivery to better serve her customer base.

Asked what businesses can do better when partnering with brands, Jenkins said companies must be willing to listen

“They have to listen and not be afraid to take on constructive criticism," she said. “We have a phrase: nothing about us without us. That’s when a brand fails - when they didn’t bring people in and who didn’t have that lived experience.”