Parsons Disabled
Fashion Student
Program
Image Description: Left image: A slender African American model is standing in a Manhattan street on a rock wearing sculptural wearable over her white skirt and crop top. The piece around her neck is asymmetrical and very sculptural with scalloped wool pleats dynamically moving in different directions. The piece is very structured but soft to touch. She drapes a wool scarf on each of her hands. Both scarfs are also made of undyed wool and have a dimension to them and are moving with the wind. Photo by Aida Sullova and design by Sugandha Gupta. Right image: A curly haired slim woman in black dress touching a large tactile piece on the wall with a multitude of textures. She appears to be touching with a very gentle touch. Photo by SCAD Photography and design by Sugandha Gupta.
The Parsons Disabled Fashion Student Program
is a new scholarship and mentorship initiative created by Parsons School of Design and Tilting the Lens to support Disabled* students interested in earning a fashion design degree and entering the fashion industry. We’re offering funding for tuition, living expenses and/or access costs in addition to industry mentorship, peer-to-peer community and support networks that aim to make attending Parsons more inclusive and equitable.
*We capitalize “Disabled" to acknowledge the community’s shared identity and reflect our commitment to advocate alongside this community for rights and equality.
What makes this program different
Image Description: A group photo of 22 models ranging from 8 years old to 67 years old wearing ten different youth designer’s work in brightly colored stretch fabrics pose together in a group shot after the Queer Radical Fair Fashion Performances in Ping Tom Park in Chicago.
We have a deep appreciation for the Disability lens and the rich contributions this community brings to fashion as an art and design practice. We understand how the fashion industry has prevented Disabled people from employment opportunities and recognition as fashion designers. We are committed to breaking down these barriers to provide access to fashion education and careers and, by doing so, helping the industry reach its full creative potential.
The program is for any Disabled person interested in studying fashion at Parsons School of Design. We invite any Disabled creative with a passion to design fashion to bring their fresh and diverse perspective.
“My lived experiences have fueled my practice both as a creative person and an educator.”
Sugandha Gupta, Mentor, Assistant Professor of Fashion Design & Social Justice at Parsons School of Design
Image Description: Sugandha Gupta is a white appearing Indian woman with Albinism. She has short blond hair and she is wearing an undyed soft woolen scarf and a floral blue blouse. She is wearing red lipstick and black eyeliner.
We exist for Disabled designers and artists
to have access to fashion education and the opportunity to enter an industry that has been historically exclusionary.
Image Description: Andraéa LaVant, a Black woman sitting in her power wheelchair in a park on a bright day. She is wearing her hair in a sleek bob, cat eye glasses, bright orange long eyelet gown and bright yellow handbag.
Program overview & benefits
This program supports students by providing an accessible experience through collaboration, community, and conversation to center their learning, dreams, and access needs.
We will offer mentorship, skills development, professional and community networks, and career pathways. We’re hoping that people entering the program can bring about creativity, change, and influence that will shape the future of fashion.
We work with students to support their access needs and have ongoing collaboration and conversation about what access looks like to each student.
The program aligns with ongoing efforts within Parsons School of Design and The New School—the university housing Parsons—to make our community and pedagogy more inclusive.
LEARN FROM Disabled INDUSTRY LEADERS
“I hope that by imparting my knowledge to youth and supporting them in creating their own clothing lines, they will be able to fill in the gaps.”
Sky Cubacub, Mentor, Rebirth Garments creator
Fashion has always been an inherent part of Disability culture.
We believe that Disability brings a unique perspective to fashion design and that Disabled people should be represented and lead in every aspect of the fashion industry.
We want to create a fashion curriculum and culture that honors Disability wisdom and where Disabled students can thrive.
Image Description: Sky Cubacub, a small tan Filipinx Xenogender person wearing their signature pink/multicolor scalemaille headpiece and handpiece and an all pink look including a ¾ turtleneck crop with a circular cut-out in the middle of the chest over a sheer bralette that also has cut outs with sheer cargo pants and metamaille chains on the hip with a plastic blue eye visor. They have pink grid graphic makeup with asymmetrical lips and spiky triangle under eye makeup. They are holding their zine: Radical Visibility: a QueerCrip Dress Reform Movement Manifesto open in one hand and tilting their visor in their other hand while sticking out their tongue. Cover photos on the zine by Grace DuVal of Sky, Alice Wong of the Disability Visibility Project and Nina Litoff.
We invite applications by March 15, 2024 for the Fall 2024 semester
Apply now for the Disabled Fashion Student Program.