The School of Fashion Champions Inclusivity with Disability Scholarship Program
The best ideas often start with a conversation. For Ben Barry, Dean of Fashion at Parsons, and Sinéad Burke, an activist, politician, educator, and CEO of Tilting the Lens, their conversations led to the creation of the Parsons Disabled Fashion Student Program, a four-year pilot initiative for Disabled fashion students and specifically those who are multiply-marginalized. The recruitment, scholarship and mentorship program aims to develop an accessible and equitable pipeline for Disabled students to enter the fashion industry by intentionally building pathways to the world-class education offered at Parsons School of Design.
“As two Disabled people working in the fashion industry, we often reflected on our journeys—what it took for us to navigate education and build our careers—and how we could use our positions to open up access for other Disabled people,” shares Barry. “We recognized how often Disabled people are excluded from fashion education and the fashion industry, not because of a lack of talent but because of systemic barriers such as physical inaccessibility, economic marginalization and cultural stigma. These barriers are even greater for Disabled people who are marginalized by racism, transphobia and other structures of oppression.”
Through the program, Parsons and Tilting the Lens aim to reshape the foundation of fashion education, and welcome a new generation of fashion and design professionals who will bring a broader range of experiences, perspectives and practices to transform the industry. The scholarship currently supports three students in the BFA Fashion Design program, MFA Fashion Design and Society program, and the AAS Fashion Design program for the duration of their studies.
“Disabled people have always been fashion designers, making and remaking clothing to support their body-minds and express their layered identities. However, the fashion industry has reduced their roles to that of participants, testers or co-designers at best, or co-opted their ideas without design credit and compensation at worst,” explains Barry. “The Parsons Disabled Fashion Student Program exists to recognize the fashion creativity and wisdom that comes from the Disability experience and to create systemic pathways to cultivate Disabled people’s rightful place as creative directors and fashion designers in the industry.”
For the students in the program, they receive both financial support, and important mentorship from Disabled designers and faculty members. The students are also participating in workshops and conversations with Disabled designers, artists, and activists, and developing their own networks within Parsons and the broader fashion community.
“This community is vital because transforming fashion education is a slow process, and so Disabled students are still navigating a system rooted in ableism and other forms of oppression,” notes Barry. “Having mentors and peers to share experiences and strategies makes the difference in creating support systems in their education.”
“Ableism is a core tenet of the fashion system” says Burke, CEO of Tilting the Lens. “This discrimination of Disabled people presents itself in how we define beauty, how we architect retail spaces and ateliers, and how inaccessible the pathways to education and employment are, particularly for those from multiply-marginalized backgrounds. We know that there is great ambition to change, but many don’t know where to start, how to build momentum, and what the value metrics could be. With the Parsons Disabled Fashion Student Program, we are explicitly creating a framework that models new behaviors, practices and measures which the wider system can implement. This program is about setting Disabled designers up for long-term success, and supporting the fashion industry to be more fair, equitable and agile.”
The program’s advisors and mentors are comprised of a group of Disabled creatives and professionals in the fashion, design and creative industries, including:
- Aaron Rose Philip, fashion model and social justice advocate
- Rachel Iseman, Head of Finance, Foundation CHANEL
- Sky Cubacub, fashion designer and creator of Rebirth Garments
- Sugandha Gupta, Assistant Professor of Fashion Design and Social Justice at Parsons School of Design
- Andraéa LaVant, founder and president of LaVant Consulting
The pilot program for the first student cohort includes generous scholarship funding from H&M whose support has made the H&M Fund for Disabled Fashion Students at Parsons possible. Program and research funding for the pilot activities are also supported by a grant from the Ford Foundation.
“H&M has been so proud to partner with Parsons on the inaugural scholarship fund for students with disabilities and it’s been an honor to get to know the initial cohort of students. At H&M, we are committed to creating a more equitable and inclusive fashion industry and through the H&M Disabled Students Scholarship Fund, we aim to contribute to an ecosystem that supports diverse perspectives and talents, which are crucial to innovation throughout industry.” – Donna Dozier Gordon, Head of Inclusion and Diversity, H&M Americas
The program has grown and expanded its reach thanks to the early support of H&M and the Ford Foundation. This spring, with funding from Capri Holdings—who owns Versace, Michael Kors, and Jimmy Choo—Parsons will welcome additional students into the program. With support from the Ford Foundation, Parsons is also collaborating with the CFDA on a major research project to understand the current state of disability inclusion in the American fashion industry.
“In addition to directly supporting students, we’re working to create larger cultural and institutional change at Parsons,” says Barry. “Our ultimate goal is to continue growing the program so that more Disabled students have access to education and career opportunities in fashion. This means not just building pathways for Disabled students at Parsons and in their careers, but fostering a future where the industry doesn’t just include us—it’s shaped by us.”