Reframing Fashion: British Vogue Celebrates Disabled Talent in Historic New Edition
Written by Celestine Fraser, published on 20 April 2023
Fashion has historically tended to overlook certain groups or communities, and certainly Disabled people are no strangers to exclusion within the industry. However, in recent years, there has been a growing conversation about Disability inclusion in fashion. Adaptive clothing brands are finally gaining mainstream recognition, and each year we are seeing more Disabled models walking the runways. In 2019, it felt like a breakthrough when Tilting the Lens Founder and CEO Sinéad Burke became the first visibly Disabled person to star on the front cover of British Vogue. Yet, Sinéad knew that her work was far from over: was this a moment, or the beginning of a movement? More importantly, who would be the next Disabled person on the cover of Vogue?
“I often ask myself if the fashion industry has become more accessible over the past few years, or if it has just become more accessible for me,” says Sinéad. “To create meaningful change, we must not design exceptions but pathways and pipelines.” Adaptive design and inclusive casting are important – but systemic change should lead to a fashion industry which is not only inclusive of Disabled people, but “more accessible for everyone at any point in their lives.”
Fast forward a few years, and Sinéad and her team at Tilting the Lens are sitting in Edward Enninful’s office at Vogue House. Sinéad recalls: “It was one of the most surreal moments of my entire life.” British Vogue wanted to discuss their ambition to “reframe fashion from a disability perspective,” and Tilting the Lens were exploring how they might be able to support the magazine throughout this process, as “ongoing facilitators of learning and education.” Above all, British Vogue wanted to “unpick, unlearn and really learn alongside Disabled people what a more accessible issue would look like, both in terms of the physical issue itself and the ways in which you could create safe spaces for Disabled people to engage in the process.”
British Vogue Launches ‘Reframing Fashion’ Edition
On 20 April 2023, with close collaboration from Tilting the Lens, British Vogue launched ‘Reframing Fashion’: a portfolio edition highlighting Disability justice, accessibility, equity, intersectionality and pride, with Sinéad Burke as Consultant Editor. In a historic first for the magazine – and in a rare event for magazine publishing – the May 2023 edition is available in a Braille and audio version, making the magazine more accessible to many.
The edition features five different covers, each starring an influential Disabled changemaker: Selma Blair, Ellie Goldstein, Justina Miles, Aaron Rose Philip and Sinéad herself. “It’s a dream come true,” says Aaron Rose Philip, an Antiguan-American model who in 2018 became the first Black, Transgender and Disabled person to be signed by a major modeling agency. To Aaron Rose, British Vogue’s new edition carries enormous cultural weight: “It’s imperative for the fashion industry to understand that Disabled people matter and contribute to fashion.” Ellie Goldstein, a British model with Down syndrome, agrees that “The experience was surreal and unbelievable.” Ellie, who has worked with a number of megabrands including Gucci, Nike and Adidas, is emphatic: “The world needs to see more models with Down syndrome. We need to be seen and represented. We are the same as everyone else.”
The edition not only features photoshoots and interviews with its five cover stars, but a number of other Disabled talent and advocates, including comedian Rosie Jones, racing driver Nicolas Hamilton and barrister Jessikah Inaba, who recently made history as Britain’s first Blind Black woman to be called to the Bar. With such a breadth of Disabled talent, we can’t help but wonder: is there a link between disability and creativity?
The Process
Tilting the Lens supported the British Vogue editors, marketers, operations, digital and wider teams by providing insights and actionable advice, ensuring that the lived experience of Disabled people and better practices in accessibility were at the heart of this edition.
As such, Tilting the Lens curated the talent and writers for the issue, created a checklist to scout the most accessible studios to produce the shoots, ensured the experience on set was equitable for everyone involved, held a digital accessibility workshop for the wider team, and advised on overall strategy and rollout for the edition. For the first time, British Vogue will also be made available in physical and digital Braille on May 5th, and as an audio format. This commitment will be extended to all future issues of the publication for the next year, in partnership with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB).
Disabled People are Innovators by Default
Christine Sun Kim, an American sound artist, has a theory: “When you grow up in a society that’s designed for people who aren’t like you, you’re forced to find alternative routes and solutions to every single thing. You basically become innovative by default and I strongly believe that it keeps your mind open to new ideas.” Fats Timbo, an author, comedian and content creator, echoes Christine: “The world isn’t mostly built for Disabled people. So Disabled people have to think of creative ways to accommodate themselves.” Looking at the innovative work of creative entrepreneur Reuben Selby, or dancer Musa Motha, or indeed Trifle Studio, a London-based collective of artists and designers with learning disabilities, one could easily be persuaded that much of the most exciting art, media and culture of the moment is being defined by Disabled people.
Choosing who to feature in the portfolio was no easy feat. Sinéad sighs: “There are so many more people who could have – should have – been part of this issue. What it illuminated was the fact that this is going to be a continuous commitment from Vogue going forward, and British Vogue in particular.” In selecting the Disabled talent who would feature in the issue, intersectionality was a priority: the contributors needed to represent a diverse cross-section of the Disability community.
The Disability Community is Intersectional
“Disability is not a monolith,” says Sinéad. “So often when disability is considered, it is largely considered from a physical disability perspective, or it’s largely considered from the perspective of a wheelchair-user.” However, British Vogue and Tilting the Lens were determined to “challenge the audience in its definition of disability, both in terms of identity, in terms of expertise and discipline, but also in terms of disability type.” For example, the team brought together four different people with cerebral palsy – Rosie Jones, Dr. Rosaleen McDonagh, Nicolas Hamilton and Aaron Rose Philip – to illustrate to an audience how, “based on their identities, their experiences, the time in which they were born, the backgrounds that they came from, that they themselves are multifaceted.” Rosie, Rosaleen, Nicolas and Aaron Rose have wildly different perspectives – and the message is clear: no two Disabled people are the same. Fats agrees: “The fashion industry needs to understand that every disability is different.”
" Without actually putting any thought into what true diversity means.
