Reducing Stigma Through Design
Warby Parker revolutionized the retail experience for prescription eyeglasses. We are now wired to think eyewear should look fashionable and the shopping experience should be enjoyable and easy.
60 million Americans live with some form of physical disability; 20% of the population may be forced to wear assistive devices. Devices that have certainly not seen the same stylization and fashionization we’ve grown accustomed to with Warby Parker glasses.
Let’s take the 2 million amputees, for example, who wear artificial or bionic legs for the rest of their lives. Up until now the mantra has been: Just cover it! This is truly a shame and a lost opportunity in our healthcare system. There are numerous studies that show there is a correlation between how good we feel about ourselves and health or overall wellbeing.
It’s about time this changes. Why is that? Partly because amputees are more out there and doing amazing things. Seeing an artificial leg is not that shocking any more. Amputees seem to be all over these days competing in the Paralympic Games, portrayed in movies like Mad Max or Star Wars or participating on TV shows like Dancing with the Stars. Early stage ventures in this field are raising the level of fashion, design and retail experience previously lacking in prosthetics.
It’s still early days, but in September 2014, Alex Minsky, a US Veteran, was the first amputee to walk on the runway during New York Fashion Week. He wore a stylish 3D printed personalized leg from UNYQ. Two years later, during this year’s February show several amputees hit the runway.
Yes, times are changing and we are slowly rewiring our perception of the disabled. After all, bionic limbs are just another form of physical augmentation just like glasses. We live in an age where augmentation of all kinds, enhanced with wearable technologies are on the verge of leaving a mark on the design and fashion landscape. Forever blurring the line between disabled and abled and possibly causing it to disappear all together in the future.
