NEW YORK (AFP) - American designer Tommy Hilfiger has launched a line of clothing for children with disabilities, a collaboration that started after a mother couldn't find jeans for her son who wears leg braces.

The 22 pieces, which include jeans, khakis, dresses and button-up shirts, look exactly the same as those on the pre-existing TH Kids line and are also priced the same, Tommy Hilfiger said in a statement posted on its website on Tuesday.

The difference is magnetic closures and Velcro in place of buttons and zippers, to make it easy to get in and out of garments.

Buttons are still sewn on the front, so there is no difference in the look.

Dresses and t-shirts can be opened completely in the back, while the length of the bottoms can be easily adjusted with a loop and button system.

The line was created in collaboration with Runway Of Dreams, a group that works with the fashion industry to adapt mainstream clothing for disabled people, Tommy Hilfiger said in its statement.

Founder Mindy Scheier was quoted as saying she had to alter jeans to fit her son Oliver, who has muscular dystrophy and wears leg braces.

She then went to school during lunch to help him undress to use the bathroom.

The new clothing line came after Scheier was introduced to Tommy Hilfiger Americas chief executive Gary Sheinbaum, the company said.