Afterpay's Australian Fashion Week 2022
"The first-ever runway dedicated to inclusive, adaptive, clothing designed to take in the needs of people living with disabilities."
ALICE BIRRELL - VOGUE
Images: Bella Herrmann & Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM
Adaptive Lingerie
Unwrapping Intimacy
The concept for the runway collection came about because Carol was in a US Zoom conference which included a young quadriplegic guy soon to marry his able bodied fiancé. At the end of the conference the other guys were teasing him about the upcoming wedding night and initially he went along with the ribbing but then said "I’ll never know what it's like to unwrap my bride".
Carol was determined to design something that would shine a light on the often misunderstood issue of intimacy and disability. This adaptive lingerie piece, designed by a quadriplegic for a quadriplegic, and modelled by a walking paraplegic, Emma Carey, included magnetic closures and loops that would enable a thumb or teeth to unwrap the garment at several points.
Image: Emma Carey
Adaptive Wedding Dress
Unveiling Elegance
Then came the wedding dress, the groom and rest of the unwrapped collection. It was one of only two runway collections to receive a standing ovation.
"It honestly felt like my wheelchair was used as a battering ram to open doors previously shut to the disability community for almost 3 decades!" ~ Carol Taylor.
Image: Lisa Cox
