The New School’s Parsons School in New York announces a new partnership with Tilting the Lens, seeking to help disabled students.

With this new four-year pilot it will have recruitment, scholarship and mentoring initiatives for disabled fashion students and specifically those who are multi-marginalized.

The accessibility consultancy is led by Sinéad Burke.

Dr Ben Barry, dean of fashion at Parsons School of Design and disability fashion educator, said: “People with disabilities have always been fashion designers, making and remaking clothes to support their body-minds and express their identities. in layers. However, the fashion industry has reduced their roles to that of participants, evaluators or co-designers at best, or co-opted their ideas without design credit or compensation at worst.”

“The Parsons Disability Fashion Student Program exists to recognize the creativity and fashion wisdom that comes from the experience of disability and to create systemic pathways to cultivate disabled people’s rightful place as directors.” creatives and fashion designers in the industry.

The goal will be to develop “an accessible and equitable pipeline” by intentionally building pathways to the world-class education offered at Parsons School of Design. In their statement, the companies confirm that what they seek is to “reshape the foundations 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”.

As for the scholarship, it will support three incoming students in the BFA Fashion Design, MFA Fashion Design and Society, and AAS Fashion Design programs for the duration of their studies. The kiss will be used for registration and living and/or access expenses, promoted by H&M.