Stephanie Thomas

Stephanie Thomas is an American disability fashion stylist, creative director, public speaker, voice actor, author, and professor. In 2006 she coined the phrase "Why are there more in-store clothing options for pets than there are for people with disabilities?".[1] In 2019, Thomas made the Business of Fashion BOF 500 list of People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry.[2]

People (magazine) reported that during her time working at WVKL-FM (95.7) radio station in Norfolk, Virginia as part of the "PJ Deejay" campaign, Thomas strictly wore pajamas for an entire year, and discussed the issue on-air everyday to raise awareness of the limited clothing options for people with physical disabilities.[3] Through this experience, Thomas noticed that the stress of going out in public dressed like nobody else was leading her to isolation.[4]

Her work in disability fashion styling, challenging industry ableism spans 30 years,[5] notably developing and trademarking the Disability Fashion Styling System which has been featured by Vogue,[6] The Guardian,[7] Refinery29,[8] Highsnobiety,[9] Paper[10] and The New Yorker.[11]

Early life and education

Thomas was born in Chicago, Illinois, she is a congenital amputee missing a right thumb and toes on both of her feet.[8] In her TEDx talk, she revealed that she was not supposed to walk.[12]

Upon graduating high school in 1987 and seeking scholarship money, Thomas performed as a Chicago Bulls cheerleader for two years, becoming the youngest captain ever her second year.[4] She then attended Kentucky State University to pursue her undergraduate studies.[13]

During her time at Kentucky State University she won the Miss Pride of Kentucky State pageant and was Top 10 in the preliminary pageant for Miss America and Miss Kentucky.[10]

Thomas holds, a Master of Arts in Fashion Journalism from the Academy of Art University[14] and a Ph.D certificate in Organizational Change and Leadership from Walden University.

Career

In an interview with the Guardian, Thomas shared that in 2006 she noticed how, we have more clothing in stores for dogs than we do for people with disabilities.[1] According to Thomas, people with disabilities are not acknowledged as fashion customers, despite representing USD $8 trillion of disposable income.[15] Between 1992 and 2003, Thomas conducted research around disability fashion which informed her trademarked Disability Fashion Styling System established in 2004.[16] It suggests that all clothing, accessories and footwear must be "Accessible, Smart and Fashionable".[17]

Stephanie Thomas, has been a professional voice actor and jingle singer since 1997.[18] She describes voice acting as being the fulfillment of a childhood dream. She has voiced over for Disney, Hilton, Macy’s, Toyota, Martini and Rossi, McDonald’s and Netflix.[19]

Thomas is an Adjunct Professor at Woodbury University in Burbank, California where she teaches Fashion Marketing at the School of Business and Communication at the School of Media, Culture & Design.[20]

In 2010 Thomas launched Cur8able, a blog which has since grown into a business around disability fashion.[21] Cur8able features Cur8tors who are ambassadors of people living with disability from different backgrounds including: models, actors and athletes.[22]

To mark the 75th Anniversary of Disability Employment Awareness Month and Dwarfism Awareness Month in October 2020, Thomas produced and hosted "Cur8able Conversations", a 2-day online event on "The Power of Personal Style" within the disabled community. Speakers included actress and activist Jameela Jamil, actress and founder of Accessible Hollywood Tatiana Lee, actress Tamara Mena, disability inclusion advocates Dru Presta and Shaholly Ayers.[23][24]

Thomas is the host of the Cur8able podcast.[25]

Notable work

Thomas regularly works with 2019 Independent Spirit Awards nominated[26] actress and disability influencer[27] Lauren “Lolo” Spencer who has ALS.[28] Spencer has modeled for Tommy Hilfiger adaptive,[29] and was styled by Thomas for the Give Me Liberty premieres at the Sundance and Cannes Film Festival in 2019.[11]

Thomas co-produced "The Fashion Project", a runway show at the 2015 Special Olympics World Games opened by former First Lady Michelle Obama. The catwalk featured athletes with disabilities and their coaches, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Honors

In 2016, Thomas spoke on "Dressing with Disabilities" at Canada’s third largest TEDx event.[30] In 2018, Thomas was recognized as a Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient by Academy of Art University. In 2019, the Business of Fashion featured Thomas on their BOF 500 list of People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry.[2]

In 2020, Thomas received an Ed Roberts Award for her work as a disability fashion styling expert, and as Founder and CEO of Cur8able, a business dedicated to the art and science of dressing with disabilities.[31]

References
  1. "Why are there more clothing lines for dogs than disabled people?". The Guardian. 18 June 2018.
  2. "Stephanie Thomas is part of the BoF 500". The Business of Fashion.
  3. "Cur8able: Stephanie Thomas Curates Clothing for People with Disabilities". People (magazine).
  4. Vowell, Roberta. "Ready to lose the jammies". pilotonline.com.
  5. "Disability Visibility Podcast" (PDF).
  6. "The $400 billion adaptive clothing opportunity". Vogue Business.
  7. "Why 2019 was a landmark year for disabled fashion". The Guardian. 30 December 2019.
  8. Huber, Eliza. "People With Disabilities Deserve Great Style — & I've Made It My Life's Work". www.refinery29.com.
  9. "Bradley Carbone & More Speak on Disability and Fashion". Highsnobiety. 28 August 2019.
  10. "Stephanie Thomas Puts in the Work to End Ableism". Paper (magazine). 15 June 2020.
  11. Crane, Brent. "Adaptive Fashion on the Red Carpet". The New Yorker.
  12. "Inclusive Design: Redefining the User Experience". Academy of Art University.
  13. "Fashion Forward". Amplitude.
  14. "Stephanie Thomas Helps People | AcademyUFashion Blog". Fashion School Daily. 8 November 2016.
  15. "Disability fashion: Stephanie Thomas shakes up fashion". Uncomfortable Revolution. 20 June 2019.
  16. Dawson, Kelly (16 October 2018). "Traditional clothes don't work for some people with disabilities — and that's a major problem". Vox.
  17. Jackson, Lottie (30 December 2019). "Why 2019 was a landmark year for disabled fashion". The Guardian.
  18. "Disability advocates push for more accessible clothing - June 4, 2015". www.cbc.ca.
  19. Gaskins, Rudy; Baker, Joan. "Stephanie Thomas". Sovas.
  20. "Adaptive Fashion is Always in Style". Woodbury University. 29 October 2019.
  21. "Stephanie Thomas Puts in the Work to End Ableism". PAPER. 15 June 2020.
  22. "Why Disability Is The Latest Fashion Industry Frontier". Bustle.
  23. "National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2020: Increasing Access and Opportunity | U.S. Department of Labor". www.dol.gov.
  24. "Dwarfism Awareness Month". www.lpaonline.org.
  25. "Cur8able sur Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts (in French).
  26. "Spirit Award Nominations Spotlight Indie Films in Need of a Boost | Hollywood Reporter". www.hollywoodreporter.com.
  27. "Disability Influencer Lauren "Lolo" Spencer on 'Give Me Liberty' and Authentic Representation | Hollywood Reporter". www.hollywoodreporter.com.
  28. Bergeron, Ryan. "Diagnosed with ALS at 14, she's now a disability lifestyle influencer". CNN.
  29. "'Give Me Libertys Lolo Spencer Would Not Have Gone to Fyre Festival". Interview Magazine. 3 September 2019.
  30. "Fashion Styling for People with Disabilities". TEDx Talks.
  31. "4th Annual Ed Roberts Awards". Ed Roberts Awards.
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