A young woman from Chalford has launched a clothing brand designed to support people with mental health challenges through sensory-friendly fashion.
Millie Haywood created Mentally Unstitched after years of struggling with her own mental health and feeling misunderstood for being different.
Speaking during Mental Health Awareness Week, Millie explained that her goal was to create clothing that helps people feel comfortable, understood and supported: “I wanted to create a clothing brand where people feel seen,” she said.
Explaining how the clothing has been designed with sensory needs in mind, Millie said: “Each piece of clothing has an anxiety-relieving adaptation, which means garments are without itchy labels and have flat seams.
“The specialist comfort-hug hoodies are created from very soft fabric and feel like a weighted blanket. The Keep it Cool T-shirts are made from natural cooling fibres that help calm and regulate your nervous system.”
Millie said her own experiences inspired her to create the brand and help challenge stigma surrounding mental health and neurodiversity.
“I struggled with my mental health for a long time and felt misjudged and misinterpreted for being different,” she said.
“At the age of 21, I was diagnosed with autism which sparked an interest in wanting to create a difference and change the stigma surrounding mental health and neurodiversity.”
The range currently includes hoodies and T-shirts designed to provide comfort and reduce sensory discomfort, with future plans to expand into more clothing and accessories.
Millie hopes the brand will help more people feel understood and supported through fashion designed with wellbeing in mind.
For more information go to Millie’s website mentallyunstiched.com and find her on Instagram @Mentallyunstitched
