BRAND BEYOND THE BINARY

By Tenfingerz

Posted 13^th September 2020

Illustration by Andy

Fashion is rife with brands that don’t cater to diverse bodies. It is only recently that the industry has been slowly moving towards becoming more inclusive of different body shapes and sizes, as well as including more diverse people in their advertising campaigns.

Small, independent brands continue to lead the charge in creating fashion lines that are more inclusive. Local brand Andy Amor Designs is taking inclusivity and accessibility to new heights.

I know Andy from their enthusiastic and committed attendance at Fast Fashun events. They came to our March event and created a whole fashun collection out of trash in one day.

This is one of many things I admire about Andy — their tenacity and determination to get shit done, which at the moment is completely focused on getting their fashion label off the ground.

Andy is on the cusp of launching their sensory-friendly binder collection designed to fit diverse bodies. For those of you new to the idea of chest binders, they are compression garments that can look like sports bras or tank tops. They are usually worn by trans masc or non-binary people to help give the appearance of a flatter chest.

Andy, who identifies as non-binary trans, originally started making binders out of necessity.

‘I started making them because I was wearing them and I wasn't very happy with all the different binders I tried. They were all pretty uncomfortable and even when I found one that was more comfortable, there were still things about it that weren't quite right. Like, they would have seams that dug in and fabric that was scratchy. On top of that, it was the cost as well.’

The binders available on the market at the moment are located in other countries, predominantly the US and Asia.

‘It ends up being quite expensive or can take quite a long time to receive if you’re getting them shipped from overseas, particularly at the moment during COVID. Then often they don’t even fit, because some of these brands haven't really done their sizing chart real well. They're some of the problems the trans community face in getting access to binders, which I am hoping will be resolved by me being a local maker and creating a more accurate sizing system’.

Andy began working on their ideal binder in 2015 with the help of their mum.

‘I've always been a maker and I've sewn practically my whole life, but I didn't have that much experience making garments at that stage. But my mum is a dressmaker, so when I finally came out to my family I asked my mum if she would help me with designing a new binder, just so I would have something that was more comfortable to wear’.

Now after years of hand-making trials and researching practically every binder available on the internet from across the globe (and I mean every, I have seen Andy’s collection), Andy is moving to make their binder business more accessible to the wider public. At the moment, binder sales are limited to custom orders and to people who can actually come for a fitting. During the recent COVID restrictions this has been impossible.

Andy is currently working with local pattern makers to refine the first three designs that will be available to purchase.

These first designs have been created with a mindset of accessibility for people with sensory issues.

‘I myself have sensory issues and find certain things really uncomfortable. That's basically what I designed around from the beginning. There’s literally nothing else on the market as far as binders go, that is designed with people with sensory issues in mind.

I have three designs and they are all designed to be as sensory friendly as possible. I have plans of further developing some of those designs to be more accessible for people with different kinds of mobility issues, as well as sensory issues’.

Andy’s designs also have diverse body shapes in mind. One of the new binder designs in development has been created specifically for people with larger chests and smaller rib cages, sometimes referred to as an inverted triangle or hourglass shape. Andy has found that people with this body shape find accessing binders that fit extremely difficult.

‘Since I've been custom making them, I've had many people come to me that haven't been able to find any binder that fits them well. They’ve usually tried out quite a few by the time they come to me, or they’ve just been too scared to even try any to begin with’.

What Andy is trying to do here goes beyond just a capitalistic venture. They have seen a real need that they are able to assist with and have gone above and beyond in their attempts to serve their community.

Andy is currently crowdfunding to cover set-up costs for the first collection. You can donate now to help get this important project off the ground.

Creative director of Fast Fashun. After leaving a career in styling and fashion photography, Tenfingerz has been creating interactive educational fashion events for the past decade. Now embarking on a covid related career pivot, releasing this online magazine while studying professional writing at RMIT.

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