'Design for Disability' Changes the Fashion Game for People With Disabilities

These models with disabilities are rocking the runway through Design for Disability.  

“When you’re diagnosed with a disability, you’re given a whole list of things that you possibly can’t do. You’re always creating your own world, and you’re always trying to adapt to environments that aren’t necessarily created for you, “explained model and mentor Jerron Herman. “What this Design for Disability experience did was it said, from the get-go, we’re including you in the creation of an environment.”

Design for Disability is a gala showcasing innovative fashion for people with disabilities, held by the cerebral palsy foundation. Models served as mentors for the student designers, advising them on the fashion wants and needs of their bodies.

“So many people have an awkward hesitation around people with disabilities, and it just doesn’t make sense,” explained Richard Ellenson, CEO of Cerebral Palsy Foundation. “What has been so compelling to me about this initiative, is that we can use fashion as a bridge to speak the language that everybody is used to.”

“We’re advising them on thing like dexterity issues, on the shape of the seated form on other problems that the disability community at large might have when getting dressed,” said model and mentor Jessy Yates. “This fashion show that Cerebral Palsy Foundation is putting on is not just about clothes. We don’t just make the clothes and then walk away.”