Rethink reimagines hospital gowns for young patients

Rethink and Starlight Children’s Foundation Canada surprised patients in an Ottawa hospital this spring with a staple of teenage life that’s often forgotten inside the walls of a hospital: fashion.

The ad agency tapped six fashion designers to create custom hospital gowns for an effort it branded Ward + Robes, set up racks inside the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario and let teenage patients choose their favourite to keep. Their reactions were filmed for a new PSA released Monday.

To date, Rethink and its designer partners have created 50 different designs for the hospital. Rethink partner and creative director Aaron Starkman said he hoped the program would take off and grow so Starlight Canada could offer custom gowns to teenage patients across Canada and inspire similar programs internationally.

The designers–Izzy Camilleri, Sarah Boyce Sargent, Raegan Hall, Rebecca Nixon, India Amara and Casey Von Esteban–are all Canadian.

Starlight Canada is currently accepting donations to fund the creation of more custom gowns on a microsite promoting the project. The organization has also published a designer’s guide with specifications and patterns for standard issue robes in hopes designers will hear about the project and be inspired to donate their own garments.

Speaking about the project, Starkman explained, “Individuality is so, so important when you’re a teenager. That gets stripped away from you when you’re in a hospital, unfortunately. You’re forced to wear the exact same boring thing everyone else has to wear. All of a sudden, [your individuality] is gone.”

The campaign is the brainchild of Rethink copywriter Krista Raspor, who has spent time in the hospital.

“I had insight into what it’s like being there, especially as a teen, when you’re trying to express yourself and be yourself and you don’t have access or the ability to do that when you’re in the hospital,” said Raspor.

She and creative partner, art director Lia MacLeod, developed the concept and Rethink pitched it to Starlight about eight months ago.

On site during the filming of the video, Starkman said he saw the teenagers light up when they saw the number and variety of robes available. Once they’d found one that suited their tastes and tried it on, he said their whole demeanor changed.

It also had an emotional impact on the patients’ parents, the hospital staff and the filming crew, Starkman said. “We were all crying happy tears.”