NYFW: Open Style Lab Brings Adaptive Fashion to the Runway

Like many major industry events, New York Fashion Week is not regularly considered as the forefront of accessibility and inclusive design. However, a new runway show featuring the spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) community is aiming to bring the fashion world—and its standards—into modernity. To highlight the need for adaptive fashion design and increase disability visibility, the SMA community partnered with non-profit organization Open Style Lab (OSL) to develop a first-of-its-kind runway show, Double Take. Kicking off NYFW on Sept. 8, Double Take showcased an inclusive group of models and designs with support from biotechnology company Genentech’s SMA My Way program, which is an initiative that aims to support all people impacted by SMA by sharing lived experiences and building connections within the community. SMA is a progressive neuromuscular disease that can impair walking, dexterity and overall strength, which makes clothing with certain fasteners, cuts and fits non-functional and inaccessible. Double Take made intentional efforts to create and modify garments according to each runway participant’s personal style and needs. OSL adaptive fashion design fellows—some of whom are disabled themselves—worked with SMA community members to create garments featuring hidden magnetic closures to create the look of buttons without the challenge of fastening them, stretch knit panels instead of zippers, flexible sleeves for easier wheelchair operation and many other adaptations. Breaking norms and changing industries Runway models included actress and model Sawsan Zakaria, mother and daughter Amber-Joi Watkins and Céline Domalski, singer-songwriter James Ian, whose song "Spaces" opened the show, and many other members of the disabled communities. “One of the big things we focus in on as an organization is not just making medicine but thinking about how we partner with and serve the communities beyond the medicines themselves,” Michael Dunn, senior marketing director of neurological rare diseases at Genentech, told Adweek. “Double Take is a fashion show that has been started by the SMA community for the broader disabled community. Beyond that, we want to create a platform to inspire and educate others around us on how we create adaptive clothing and fashion as an inspirational and educational endeavor. Although brands like Savage X Fenty and Tommy Hilfiger have taken steps toward inclusivity through diverse models and accessible design respectively, the industry still has a long way to go before more needs are more widely met. With Double Take's intentional involvement of the SMA community from start to finish, the organization is setting a new bar when it comes to real inclusion. "What's great about that is that the more people with disabilities have the opportunity to work and be part of the conversation, the more non-disabled people can see how inaccessible this world actually is," Zakaria said during the show. "The way to fix that is by including people with disabilities in those conversations and hiring them. This fashion show is a stepping stone to open doors for not only fashion, but allowing people to see that people with disabilities need to be a part of all conversations before we can really be inclusive and accessible in society." 11 of the Most Accessible Brand Campaigns and Actions of 2021

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Open Style Lab Brings Adaptive Fashion to the New York Fashion Week Runway

The nonprofit partnered with the SMA community to spotlight inclusive clothing

Natalie Venegas

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Natalie Venegas