There are 14.1 million disabled people in the UK alone and yet our society has by-and-large has not adapted to accommodate the needs of those with different disabilities, from everything like fashion to architecture. In fact, the word disability still seems to be somewhat taboo. When it comes to diversity, we often hear about things like gender, body size and ethnicity, but what about disability? 

However, disability inclusive design has been on the rise. There are a plethora of adaptive fashion brands emerging, and Birmingham Library won the Civic Trust Award for Universal Design in 2015, for creating an entirely wheelchair accessible space, by embedding inclusivity as a core value in the design process. Furthermore, the conversation around embracing and celebrating neurodiversity has been brought to the forefront in recent years, to challenge ableist and neurotypical persons as the ‘norm’. 

But there is still a lot to be done. There is a significant lack of disability representation in all industries, across all sectors and it’s important that our educational systems and workplaces are being challenged to break down ableist constructs and embrace disability. 

Our Disability campaign aims to explore the needs, wants and experiences of people with disabilities and truly hear them out. In investigating this topic, we want to really uncover things that we ourselves may never have thought about before; putting ourselves in the shoes of others, listening to their stories and sharing them with others. We want to open minds and see the world through new perspectives.