To See or Not to See: Fashion and the Disabled Identity

Words by Mathilda Gatsby

Edited by Rachel Hambly and Bailey Tolentino

When I think about what fashion and design mean to me, I am often reminded that fashion can be both expressive and protective. I went to the ‘Disability and Design’ exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum over the summer and immediately gravitated towards the ‘anti-grab wheelchair handle spikes.’ These were not only a poignant reminder of the boundaries that disabled people must set in their daily lives, but also a punk expression of the power that fashion and design can afford to people. The spikes say, ‘I am here, this is who I am, but that does not give you the right to touch me.’  

I have always loved expressing myself through my clothing choices, but as I became a teenager in the 2010s, this became a way to protect myself from others' eyes. In the time of developing social media, it was impossible not to compare myself to all the other beautiful, able-bodied women, especially as so much of the clothing that I had access to was objectively ugly and unflattering. Now, waking up every morning and getting dressed becomes a choice between being seen as a twenty-three-year-old or as a disabled twenty-three-year-old, trousers or a skirt? Despite how much I love my sparkly black prosthetic leg, I don't want to show it all the time, and the self-consciousness involved in making these decisions can be incredibly difficult at times. However, it can also be freeing. I love to incorporate my leg into my accessories for the day; I chose sparkly black for a reason (it goes with everything). I also love it when I can comedically reveal my prosthesis and someone says, ‘I had no idea!’ Being seen or not being seen is entirely within my power, and I am incredibly grateful for it. Not everybody has that luxury.  

It is incredibly empowering to see people and brands that promote inclusivity. The age of social media has seen a rise in disabled content creators using public platforms to promote messages of inclusivity and, more importantly, to show how they exist as individuals, not simply as “brave” or “inspirational” tokens of sympathy. Speaking to athlete and disabled influencer Rebecca Legon (yes, that’s her real last name), she told me about her experiences as a footballer for the England Women’s Amputee team and growing up as an amputee. She told me that ‘when I was younger and I was a teenager and there wasn’t much awareness around disability and difference, I would use clothing to hide my prosthesis […] I tried to blend in with the background.’ However, things started changing as she noticed ‘others like me on social media achieving and doing wonderful things, and being inspired by them to not hide it anymore,’ she found her confidence in others.’  Looking at her page now, you can see just how confidently she owns her identity, not only as an amazing mum but as a host for Movao, the public platform for world-leading adaptive brand Ottobok. Showing off her prosthesis, she adapts her own clothing by cutting her leggings and wearing them inside her socket to help with friction burns whilst doing outdoor activities..  

Having a disability can often mean that clothing is not always comfortable, safe, accessible, or simply enjoyable enough to wear, particularly when brands prioritize content over quality. There are still systemic issues within the fashion industry that shape trends and the production of garments that are not inclusive or adaptable, especially when disability inclusion is so rarely at the forefront of people’s minds. When asked about adaptive clothing lines, Rebecca told me that adaptive fashion should have ‘materials that work around different bodies without making them feel too different,’ and that ‘adaptive ranges should be using clever fabrics, innovative fabrics.’ Rebecca loves the Vivo barefoot shoes as an above-knee amputee; having ‘that connection to my real foot and my prosthesis to the ground’ is really liberating and grounding for her. As a professional model, she’s found that stylists and a lot of the industry do not understand the bodies of people with disabilities, and there have been times where she has struggled on shoots to get that ‘look’ you might find in other shoots. However, she worked with the brand Sweaty Betty last year and found that their preparation, fittings, and communication ahead of time were helpful and noted that ‘there is a lot to learn in the fashion industry’. With my own (limited) experience in modelling, we agreed that it would be better if the stylists and the teams behind the brands understood models with diversity a little better.  

As approximately 24% of people in the UK (about 16.1 million people*) identify as disabled, the push for conscientious inclusion is becoming more obvious. Inclusion, after all, only ever benefits. Despite brands often having a singular token physically disabled person on the runway, or able-washing their production standards, it is becoming more common for inclusion to go beyond the runway and into the designs themselves. I was delighted to see the brand Unhidden at London Fashion Week for A/W25, featuring models with different visible disabilities, British Vogue featuring cover models with visible disabilities in their May 2023 Issue, and agencies such as ZBD Talent, who are working to promote inclusion in fashion and media. Victoria’s Secret debuted an Adaptive Intimates Collection in 2023, and even Primark recently launched an adaptive line featuring bras and trousers with discreet fasteners and accessible zips. Fashion should, and can, be for everyone, financially and physically.  

When the eyes of the world could be on you at any given moment, it is an incredibly vulnerable thing to put yourself out there and make the choice to be seen. Expression can take many forms, so seeing fashion for all bodies in the high-street and high-fashion worlds enables individuals to enter the world in any way they feel comfortable, be it in adaptive sportswear or punky zip-up jeans. Whilst not every disabled person can choose to be seen or not, in a world of changing representation and adaptive clothing, disabled people are being given more opportunities to use fashion and represent themselves as they choose. As more people get online and see content creators such as Rebecca, people can learn that “disabled” does not look just one way, nor must it be included in the conversation. I get the choice every day to be seen or not to be seen, but I know that whatever I choose, it will be me.  

*Statistics from the UK Parliament House of Commons Library, from a report written in 2024.