Join us in conversation with co-lab member Tracy Vollbrecht and special guests Derek Flores, Erin Dineen, Kaycee Marshall, and Victoria Jenkins as we explore the latest in adaptive fashion.

Tracy Vollbrecht, Adaptive Fashion Designer and Consultant

Tracy is an adaptive fashion designer and consultant who was inspired to focus on universal design after observing her dad’s struggle with Multiple Sclerosis. After spending 2 years as the founding designer of JuniperUNLTD's Yarrow and ULEX brands, Tracy is now consulting brands and universities on their journeys into the adaptive market segment. With experience designing for and advising start-ups, corporate brands, and universities, Tracy is changing the narrative of adaptive fashion - adaptive fashion can be both functional and fashionable. When she is not designing and consulting, she can be found tending to her plants, expanding her sustainability knowledge, and exploring new destinations.

Derek Flores, Zappos Adaptive 

Colorado native Derek Flores has over 15 years’ experience in the apparel industry.  After several years leading the Zappos men's/denim team, Derek was chosen to bring his product experience and knowledge to what would become Zappos Adaptive. Today, Derek's passion for trends and dedication for inclusivity continues, as he curates, styles, and merchandises fashionable and functional products for those with dressing needs.

Erin Dineen, Target Technical Designer

Erin attended Iowa State University and studied for a semester at the London College of Fashion. She has been a Technical Designer for 16 years. Currently, she is on the Centers of Excellence Team, which is a project based team that supports Owned Brands and the Adaptive Collections at Target. She developed a passion for creating adaptive clothing and other adaptive items based on my own lived experiences affecting myself, family, and friends. She has been working on adaptive apparel since its inception at Target in 2017.  She loves working with the Target Guest and collaborating on new ways to meet their needs and express their individual style! Outside of work, she loves to hike, garden, read, sew, craft, travel, and try new things… she is generally up for any adventure! She live in Minnesota with her husband, son, daughter, and 2 cats.

Kaycee Marshall, Adaptive Fashion Designer

Kaycee Marshall graduated from Kent State University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design. As a wheelchair user herself, she understands first-hand the struggle of finding clothing that works with her disability. After struggling to find a prom dress that worked with her wheelchair, Kaycee chose to focus on an adaptive evening wear collection for women who use wheelchairs, which gained national attention from The Today Show. Since graduation, she made the move to New York City and continued her mission to make the fashion industry a more accessible and inclusive place working with the CFDA, ASOS, Global Brands Group, Abercrombie and Fitch, and more.

Victoria Jenkins, CEO + Founder, Unhidden

Victoria is an award winning adaptive designer, disability advocate, speaker and writer. She studied fashion design at Istituto Marangoni graduating in 2008. She has spent the past 14 years working as a garment technologist before going freelance in 2017 when she became a start up consultant and technical illustrator also. She became disabled in her mid 20’s and has a variety of gastrointestinal and musculoskeletal conditions/ symptoms from surgeries and complications of her conditions. This is what led to her founding Unhidden, a socially responsible adaptive fashion range for people with disabilities. In early 2021 she wrote her first book, The Little Book of Ableism, as a guide to help non disabled people learn simple and easy ways to communicate with the community and be accessible in their private and professional lives. She regularly speaks about ableism and inclusive design, as well as disability representation and depiction in the media.

Café Co-Lab's are small, bi-weekly networking groups focused on specific topics. They are an opportunity for co-lab members to connect, share resources , and engage with other members.

All co-lab events are free to members. Zoom details will be posted on the day of the event in our private community Slack in the #theco-lab-events channel. All questions can be directed to info@jointhecolab.com. To become a member and receive access to these exciting events, join us here.