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EPISODE 128 FEATURES WRITER KEAH BROWN
For all the talk of inclusivity finally being taken seriously by fashion, the industry is way behind on many fronts. It basically ignores entire sections of the market, which makes no sense from a business perspective, let alone a social one.
Adaptive fashion is both an opportunity and a necessity - as this week's brilliant guest, author Keah Brown says, disabled people love clothes too. And they're tired of having to alter things that don't work for them. Accessible, adaptive design is the future, and forward-looking brands are taking note.
Our chat covers everything from Keah's New York Fashion Week debut and how her hashtag #disabledandcute went viral to writing her first screen play and the finding joy in the everyday. This is an enlightening, bright interview full of inspiration.
NOTES & LINKS
FOLLOW Keah on Instagram here.
Find her WEBSITE here.
“I have always believed that fashion is the window to the soul. As a Black disabled woman with cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that affects movement on the right side of my body, I have gone through what I call the stages of fashion grief.” READ the rest of Keah’s New York Times story here.
BUY Keah’s book here - It’s called The Pretty One: On Life, Pop Culture, Disability and Other Reasons to Fall in Love wit Me.
Here’s what Roxane Gay has to say about it: ““What does it mean to live at the intersections of blackness, womanhood, and disability? In her admirable debut, The Pretty One, Keah Brown answers this question with heart, charm, and humor.”
And Lena Dunham, “Keah Brown doesn’t want you to feel sorry for her; she wants something far more complex, and far funnier. With her passion, humor and keen insight into the politics of living in a body often deemed ‘other’ or ‘less than,’ Keah shows us that despite the challenges she is dealt, she is true ‘goals.’”
WATCH the Runways for Dream show below:
“LEFT WITH FEW CLOTHING OPTIONS, WE HAVE BEEN ALTERING OUR OWN CLOTHES ALL OF OUR LIVES.” - KEAH BROWN
Here’s Keah on the very narrow representation of disability in pop culture: “The face of the disability community is very white….I’m not a cis heterosexual white male wheelchair user, so in pop culture, I don’t exist. That’s not okay because it’s not reality. I exist, I am a real person behind these words, and I deserve to be seen.”
FASHION also has a long way to go. Like, a long way.
“MY DISABILITY IS NOT A THING TO SEE PAST, BUT INSTEAD A THING TO ACKNOWLEDGE & ACCEPT BEFORE ABLE-BODIED PEOPLE, AND MYSELF, CONTINUE EXISTING AT THE SAME TIME IN THIS WORLD.” - KEAH BROWN
MUSIC is by Montaigne, who sang this special acoustic version of “Because I love You” from her album Glorious Heights, just for us.
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Clare & the Wardrobe Crisis team x