Modeling Agency Re-Casts The Limelight On Disabled Talents Who Look ‘Different’
Photo 239806886 © Aaron Amat | Dreamstime.com
The fashion world has long been called out for propagating a single ideal of beauty. Until recently, it’s almost only cast size-zero models with features deemed as classically beautiful. Luckily, the industry has become more inclusive now, though there’s still work to be done.
Kello Inclusive, a newcomer to the fashion game, doesn’t just represent models—it represents representation. The Canadian agency only recruits talents that are disabled and visibly different.
The firm was launched by Edmonton-based couple Katie MacMillan and Austin Allanach six months ago after witnessing their daughter Kelty’s experience as a young disabled model, CTV News Edmonton reports.
12-year-old Kelty has Cerebral Palsy and gets around with a pediatric mobility aid. Her parents are all for her path of starting out as a model from a young age, as they feel it’s important to normalize seeing mobility aids in photo shoots to inspire others from similar backgrounds to follow their dreams.
Kelty’s former agency of two years didn’t have much experience working with disabilities, so MacMillan and Allanach opened their own firm to give aspiring models the acknowledgement they deserve.
This month, Kelty graced the runway at Toronto Kids Fashion Week as part of the event’s first catwalk featuring disabled models.
Kello Inclusive has signed more than 50 models since its inception, teaming up with brands like Levi’s to push diversity in beauty.
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Among them is 40-year-old Alexis Hillyard, a content creator with a congenital amputation, meaning she was born with a missing limb—in this case, her left hand. Understandably, Hillyard respects what Kello Inclusive is fighting for; for many of the kids with congenital amputees that she meets, she is the first who resonates with their condition.
“We just kind of get each other,” Hillyard tells the news outlet. She adds that people feel “more seen in [themselves]” when they recognize the same traits in others.
The agency’s founders are pleased with all the traction it is getting, as it shows that more people are caring about inclusive representation.
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[via CTV News Edmonton and CityNews Toronto, images via various sources]
