SCOTIA, N.Y.; MILFORD, MA – The neighboring Spina Bifida Association chapters of Northeastern New York and Greater New England have paired up to offer their second annual Strut and Stroll, Virtual Fashion Show to educate, empower, and unite the spina bifida and adaptive fashion communities. This event is scheduled on, Thursday, March 17, 2022 from 6:30PM to 8:30PM EST via Zoom Video Conferencing.
This event will feature models living with spina bifida. Representatives from adaptive fashion companies IZ Adaptive, Stride Rite, Zappos Adaptive, Friendly Shoes, befree, LLC., Punkinfutz, The Charlotte Letter, Koolway Sports, and Redefining Spina Bifida, have donated their adaptive clothing options to 18 models living with spina bifida. Runway of Dreams and Tracy Volbrecht Consulting will join these brands and designers for a roundtable discussion with the models following the premiere. Led by Kaycee Marshall, an adaptive designer and adult with spina bifida, the roundtable will discuss the history and future of adaptive fashion. This event is free and open to the public.
“Fashion is a form of self-expression and a direct way to feel like you fit in,” one adult with Spina Bifida said. “As a kid growing up, it mattered to me when I felt excluded because I couldn’t fit in a lot of the popular shoes that a lot of the other kids had, or I couldn’t fit into skinny jeans. It was especially frustrating when I would be shopping with non-disabled friends who didn’t have this issue.”
Adaptive fashion is designed for people with disabilities and is a vital aspect of creating an accessible and inclusive society. Adaptive fashion can include a wide variety of design elements such as easy closures, fabric cut to suit seated wearers, access points for medical devices, shoes designed to fit AFOs, materials that are sensory-friendly, and much more.
Spina Bifida is the most common, permanently disabling birth defect compatible with life in the United States that occurs when the spine fails to form properly and leaves the spinal cord exposed. Usually occurring in the first four weeks of pregnancy, Spina Bifida can affect mobility, urology, and neurology. Each person’s experience with this condition is unique and, provided with the right tools, people with Spina Bifida live meaningful and impactful lives.
Watch the show here.
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