Can fashion lift its inclusivity game? When 28-year-old British model Junior Bishop - who just so happens to be a wheelchair user - spoke at the Houses of Parliament recently, she called on the fashion industry to do more to tackle its disability access issues. Levelling the playing field is a corner stone of the wellbeing economy - what’s the point of only some of us get to have our wellbeing considered?
“When looking at fashion and media today,” said Junior, diversity and representation are gradually improving. That’s important. “We hope to simply see people who look like us - our ‘imperfections’, our ‘flaws’, the little things that make us who we are.” Also, purely from the economic rationale, how do brands expect to sell to people who don’t see themselves in campaigns?
As Junior acknowledged: “The excitement of being able to see someone who is a wheelchair user, a cane user despite their age, has a limb difference, has Down syndrome, has albinism, the list goes on… Having those with disabilities or their family members tearfully say ‘I didn’t know people like us could do that kind of thing’; that is why this movement needs to continue to grow."
Representation is an important first step, but we can’t stop there.
This inspiring conversation, packed with practical advice and emotional intelligence, comes with a call to action: want to do better on this stuff? Ask disabled people what they need!
Junior Bishop (bottom left) with fellow speakers at the APPG on Sustainability and Ethics in Fashion art Westminster, February 2024. Image courtesy Fashion Roundtable. Back row, from left: Clare Press, Tamara Cincik, John McNally MP, Labour behind the Label’s Dominique Muller, Juliet Roebuck, founder of Thread Republic, and Traid’s Marie Chenoweth.
FASHION ROUNDTABLE is a think tank, facilitating collaboration between politics and fashion in the UK. Founder by Tamara Cincik in 2017. It also acts as the secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Ethics & Sustainability in Fashion. Read about the APPG session Clare met Junior at, here.
FASHION ROUNDTABLE’S MANIFESTO FOR CHANGE:
1. There remains a lack of inclusion & representation in the fashion industry - although we are seeing change in front of the camera, what about behind the camera and those who work in those companies full/part time?
2. The fashion industry is missing out on potential revenue due to ignoring marginalised groups.
3. Stop skimming the surface: underlying issues still remain such as unconscious bias, negative attitudes towards disabilities as well as false assumptions on capabilities.
4. The industry is segregated - many report that they’re forced to change their work patterns & go freelance in order to avoid perceived discriminatory working conditions.
5. Strong, transformational leadership is required. There needs to be broader recognition and acceptance at the highest levels in regards to the lack of representation and inclusion within the fashion industry.
Read more in Delivering a Sector Vision Recommendations here.
Download FRT’s CREATIVE WELLBEING ECONOMY report, authored by Meg Pirie, here.
““ People with disabilities are just that - we are people & should be treated with a positive (not
condescending) attitude just like you would anyone else.”
”
NOTES
FURTHER LISTENING We recommend: 205 with Richard Malone, 206 with Caryn Franklin and 207 with Rahemur Ramhan. Also, Keah Brown from Disabled and Cute is on Ep 128, and Sinead Burke in Ep 100. Want more? Clare spoke to FRT’s Tamara Cincik on Ep 67.
JUNIOR BISHOP is a London-based model who’s worked with the likes of Sephora, Adidas and London Fashion Week. More here.
Ehlers Danlos syndrome (EDS) is a group of hereditary connective tissue disorders that manifests clinically with skin hyperelasticity, hypermobility of joints, atrophic scarring, and fragility of blood vessels.
ZEBEDEE TALENT is the UK’s first inclusive acting and modelling agency dedicated to championing Disabled, Visibly Different, Non-Binary, and Trans Models. Founded by Laura Johnson and Zoe Proctor. Read an interview here. They've also got offices in NY, LA and Australia. Discover here.
LANGUAGE Disability or difference? Just as everyone’s different in various ways, people have different ideas and preferences around the language used to describe them. As Junior says, just ask!
According to People with Disability Australia, “The choices people make about language have an impact on the way people with disability feel and are perceived in society. It is important there is awareness of the meaning behind the words that are used when talking to, referring to, or working with people with disability. Disrespectful language can make people with disability feel hurt and excluded and be a barrier to full participation in society.” PWDA’s language guide is a useful as a starting point.
ADE ADEPITAN (below) is a British television presenter and wheelchair basketball player.
WHO’S LUCKY? Maybe you’re in a wheelchair, or can’t use the stairs for other reasons, you have hearing loss or low vision, for example - there are so many reasons why you might face access barriers. But if you, or someone close to you, are not affected, you might never think about accessibility or its lack. Still, when Clare says she’s “lucky” to be an able bodied person in world designed for her, Junior pull her up: “I feel lucky to have a different perspective,” she says.
WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW, YOU DON’T KNOW… UNTIL YOU DO Clare mentions the revelation that was finding out that if you don’t tie your shoes together when you donate them to charities, they will likely get separated and become unsellable. Junior says lightbulb moments, when it comes to inconveniencing wheelchair users, might include: leaving your bins out in the street for longer than you need to, thus rendering the pavements inaccessible. Or not picking up your dog’s poo (you might think stepping in it is bad; much worse for a wheelchair user); litter, too, can get stuck in wheel spokes.
Try approaching all of this with EMPATHY over CONDESCENSION.
Here’s the trailer for the Channel 4 doco NEW MODEL AGENCY:
WFH changed everything during the pandemic… for a while. Have we rushed back to how it used to be? Jury’s out. More here, and here. One thing’s for sure - self-taping helps make talent castings more accessible.
TILTING THE LENS is international consulting team that advises brands including Gucci, Snap and Starbucks, guiding their Disability inclusion strategies. Founded by Sinéad Burke. More here.
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING. Please do get in touch if you like the show, and help us continue to make it by growing our audience. Sharing it on social media, or just with your friends, rating, reviewing or simply recommending it, makes a huge difference.
Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress (& rarely these days, but anyway, X @mrspress).