have a positive impact on their
emotional wellbeing and, in turn,
their ability to self-manage their
condition and take care of
themselves.”
Initially influenced by her own
experiences, Natalie is constantly
engaging with the Diabetes
Online Community to discuss
everyday frustrations of multiple
daily injections and pump-
wearing to better tailor her line.
“So many girls spoke to me
of their frustrations of trying
to find a dress that could
accommodate their pump,
or the awkwardness of injecting
in public,” she says.
The collection – currently
offering 12 womenswear items,
including jeans, skirts, dresses
and jumpsuits – features zips
or slits for easy injection access,
alongside special pockets that
can hold insulin pumps
and enable tubing
to easily feed
through the
clothes. “It’s very
easy to trivialise
these things,”
says Natalie.
“But when you have
to manage something like type 1
all day every day, with no days off
or holidays, anything that makes
your life a little easier, or helpsyou to feel good about yourself,
can make a massive difference.”
Natalie hopes to expand Type 1
Clothing to include both a junior
and men’s line in the future.
“My junior denim line is currently
in early stage production,” she
says. “And I hope to have these
out by early next year, at which
point I will start work on the
men’s collection.”
The success of the two-
woman team has been seen
through the overwhelmingly
positive response to their line,
with orders and messages from
across the world. “I think
receiving a tweet from Chelsea
Clinton [daughter of Hillary
Clinton who, although she
does not have diabetes, does
a lot of advocacy and awareness
work in the area of diabetes]
was definitely a highlight,” says
Natalie. And, of course, it remains
very personal. “I cried the first
time I saw someone wearing
my one of designs,” she says. ■For more information and/or to make a purchase
of Type 1 Clothing, visit t1clothing.com.diabetes hero
20 MARCH/APRIL 2019 diabetic living
WORDS^ ELLIE^GRIFFITHSPHOTOGRAPHYSUPPLIED^BYNATALIEBALMAINOver the years Natalie has
raised money for JDRF, Diabetes
UK and other clinical research
trials, and contributed 5 per cent
of the profits made from Type 1
Clothing to research. “I wanted
to contribute to the many other
efforts, innovations and
treatments that are being
developed for type 1 diabetes
around the world,” she says.
Natalie also shares her
knowledge of diabetes – from
glucose monitors to fashion,
dating and alcohol – through
a series of vlogs on the
YouTube channel Type One TV.MORE THAN
JUST FASHION