The Community the Fashion Industry Wanted to Ignore
In 2020, a new face emerged as the headliner for Gucci’s Unconventional Beauty campaign: Ellie Goldstein. Ellie, an 18-year-old model from the UK, can be seen modeling the Gucci L’Obscur Mascara wearing a Gucci branded outfit. Her smile is endearing and the way she smiles with her eyes would make Tyra Banks proud. Ellie has Down’s Syndrome, and became the first model with a disability to be featured in a Gucci campaign. Following this shoot, Ellie had a profile in Allure magazine and her photos went viral. She is an extremely talented and beautiful model and consumers loved her photos. So why is she the first person with a disability to model for a brand as big as Gucci?
The problem is not a lack of disabled models
The fashion industry has historically excluded people with disabilities, both in front of cameras and behind the scenes. In Foster and Pettinicchio’s study “A model who looks like me: Communicating and consuming representations of disability,” they posit that the industry has traditionally held the belief that the ‘standard’ idea of beauty - Caucasian, able-bodied, thin - makes more money. The study analyzed 180 magazine issues from three publications over five years and found that none of these issues featured a model with a disability on the cover. They then discuss the massive positive response that consumers showed to Teen Vogue’s September 2018 cover, which featured three models with disabilities, obviously a huge step forward in increasing visibility of this community in the fashion industry. Also discussed was Aerie’s 2018 #AerieREAL campaign which featured Chelsea Werner, a model with Down’s Syndrome, alongside able-bodied models. In the three months following this campaign, Aerie’s sales skyrocketed 38%. After analyzing several more brand campaigns and the consumer response via social media, it was clear to the researchers that consumers want to see more models with disabilities featured in the fashion industry.
The danger of tokenization
A pitfall that some brands fall prey to is the danger of tokenism. Merriam-Webster defines tokenism as, “the policy or practice of making only a symbolic effort,” which is evidenced by brands who may hire one or two models with disabilities for one single campaign, but never again. Tokenism also occurs when companies may attempt to give the appearance of inclusivity, but make no internal changes to hire employees with disabilities or choose venues that are inaccessible for wheelchair users, even though some of their models may use wheelchairs. In order to avoid tokenism, it is essential for companies to include people with disabilities in conversations about inclusiveness, adaptability, and the importance of representation. Models with disabilities should have equal access to the same opportunities as able-bodied models - not because they are disabled, but because they are talented at their job.
Representation done right
The importance of disabled representation in the fashion industry is summed up by Madison Lawson, a fashion writer and wheelchair user, in her article for Vogue: “As children, you create this image of beauty based on what society deems beautiful - so what happens when the image of beauty and desirability never looks like you?” Several brands and agencies are going beyond the tokenization of models with disabilities and working to make changes on a large scale to ensure that the disabled community feels represented.
Brands:
ASOS recently hired a model with a cochlear implant to model earrings for their website.
For the first time ever, Nike featured a paralympic athlete in their underwear campaign, gold medalist sprinter and double amputee Blake Leeper.
Tommy Hilfiger designed Tommy Adaptive, a line of adaptive clothing for individuals with disabilities who are unable to use clothes made for able-bodied people, including clothes fit for prosthetics and specifically designed for wheelchair users.
Following their 2018 campaign featuring Chelsea Werner, Aerie continues to hire spokeswomen and models with disabilities, including blind Youtuber Molly Burke and Broadway actress and wheelchair user Ali Stroker.
Chella Man, IMG Models’ first deaf and transgender-masculine model, designed a line of ear jewelery specifically for individuals with cochlear implants
Modeling Agencies:
Zebedee Management, Ellie Goldstein’s agency, solely represents models with disabilities or those from the transgender or non-binary community. Their goal is “to increase the representation of people who have until now been excluded in the media, including people with disabilities or alternative appearances and trans/non binary.”
We Speak Model Management “champions the voices of marginalized groups,” representing models such as Bri Scalesse, a paraplegic model and wheelchair user, and Chelsea Werner.
Disabled models should not be held back because of “bodies they cannot change and should not have to” (Teen Vogue)
Consumers have a duty to support brands and companies that are making real efforts to affect positive change in the fashion industry. Increased disability representation will happen once brands realize that consumers want to see catwalks, magazines, and textbooks that reflect what society actually looks like. For years, the fashion industry has failed to realize that “beauty is not one-dimensional, and disabled people are not any less beautiful,” as model Kelly Knox says in her interview with Who What Wear. Representation is so important, because now, an aspiring model with Down’s Syndrome can look at Ellie Goldstein and Chelsea Werner; a hopeful actress and model with muscular dystrophy can look at Jillian Mercado; an amputee who wants to model for Tommy Hilfiger can look at Kiara Marshall and say if she can do it, I can do it too.
