Runway of Dreams UW–Madison held its first fully independent Adaptive Runway Show — which highlights adaptive fashion for people with disabilities — Wednesday evening at UW Hillel on Langdon Street.
The club is a branch of the Runway of Dreams Foundation, which supports the movement for disability inclusion in the fashion and beauty industries, according to Foundation’s website.
Evening festivities began with UW Jewop A Capella, who sang “Easy to Love,” “Man or Muppet” and “Bei Mir.” At the conclusion of the Jewop performance, Runway of Dreams UW–Madison President Jenna Musoff played a brief documentary about Runway of Dreams while the models left the room to prepare for the runway.
Eight models walked the runway, modeling a wardrobe of custom-made clothes from Joe & Bella, Brakefields and Tommy Hilfiger. Adaptations included body shape specific tailoring, subtly placed zippers and magnetic buttons for ease of use, and special side-seam closures for ease of dressing.
People with disabilities are often forced to sacrifice style for comfort and ease of use, and, though the fashion industry has made strides in recent years, it still has a long way to go in addressing this problem, Musoff said.
Broadly, the Adaptive Runway Show helps highlight the demand for adaptive clothing, but it also has a local impact on people with disabilities in the community, Musoff said.
“It’s really about spreading awareness and how we are a fashion revolution and how anyone can wear these clothes and feel special. We want everyone to feel like they can have something that they can wear and feel confident in,” Musoff said.
With adaptations that are nearly undetectable from the exterior the outfits at this year’s Adaptive Runway show did just that, Musoff said.
Last year, Runway of Dreams UW–Madison partnered with The Issue, a campus fashion magazine, to host an adaptive show, but this year marked the first time that the club has been able to organize and carry out the event independently, according to Musoff.
Musoff reached out to several UW disability affiliated organizations to find models for the show including Best Buddies, Adaptive Fitness and Badgers for Special Olympics. Demand for modeling was high and Musoff said that she regretfully had to turn down several potential models who expressed interest after clothing orders had already been made.
In preparation for the event, models’ measurements were distributed by the Runway of Dreams Foundation to adaptive clothing companies Joe & Bella and Brakefields for tailoring to the models’ fits and adaptive needs, according to Musoff. Shoe retailer Zappos also donated 10 pairs of shoes for the event, Musoff said. The rest of the clothes were provided by donations raised through the club.
After the show, model Chrispy Black, who accented his adaptive olive trousers and black polo with wide Lennon shades — in self-described dance club style — said that he hoped these runway shows would happen more often in the future.
“I think it went pretty well,” Black said. “I’ve been to a lot of different fashion shows. This one is really neat. I hope they do it more often,” Black said.
