Brisbane Fashion festival tears down barriers to fashion for all

Brisbane Fashion Festival is to put people with disabilities centre stage.

From left, disabled models Jo Gilchrist and Lisa Cox with Carol Taylor yesterday ahead of the Brisbane Fashion Festival. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen.

The Brisbane Fashion Festival is to put people with disabilities centre­ stage, something rarely done since British designer Alexande­r McQueen put double-amputee athlete Aimee Mullins on the catwalk in 1998.

Tonight the festival will host a collection of adaptive fashion by lawyer and artist Carol Taylor, and modelled by people with ­disabilities, many in wheelchairs.

Taylor, a quadriplegic since a car accident 18 years ago, was approache­d by the festival to create­ the nine-piece collection, called MeQ Designs, given her experience making clothes for herself and other wheelchair users. “For 18 years I’ve been designing my own clothes,” she said.

In November, Taylor won the Access Arts Achievement Award, a $10,000 prize that she says “put me on this road”. She used the money to put her colourful artwork on fabric, and gained industry connections that helped her put the collection together.

“MeQ gives me a voice, my art gives that voice eloquence, and my designs — inspired by those excluded from the fashion industry — give MeQ its power and its passion,” she said.

The pieces take into consideration the different issues faced by those with a variety of disabilities.

For example, some pieces have magnetic zips for those with dexterity issues, and for complic­ations around regulating body temperature, there is a kaftan with concealed flaps that can be easily released into longer sleeves to cover up.

Writer and motivational speaker Lisa Cox will be modelling in the show.

“One in five of us (in Australia) have a disability, and we’re just not represented in conversations around fashion,” said Cox, who suffered a stroke aged 24, which led to further complications ­including a leg, toe and fingertip amputations.

“From a business perspective it’s really smart to be including people with disabilities. I can’t walk, but I have a credit card.”

While Taylor isn’t planning to launch a fully fledged label, she is interested in collaborating with existing labels and designers. “It makes good business sense to collab­orate with someone who has 18 years’ experience in a wheelchair,” she said.

Cox believes it’s also important for younger people to see themselves represented on the catwalk. “When I grew up as a teenager I felt awkward, and I didn’t have a disability, but I would still see myself represented. I can’t imagine how difficult it is for kids who have a disability.”