Fashion Students, Models with Disabilities Show Off Practical Designs

SF STATE NEWS -- In keeping with SF State’s mission of challenging the status quo, Runway 2017 is a collaborative, multidisciplinary effort that brings together a diverse array of students, faculty and staff from across campus, working together to create solutions to real-life fashion challenges. Students are responsible for all aspects of the unique event, designing the fashions, selecting the models, preparing the venue and setting the stage, giving them hands-on experience in every aspect of production. In most areas of design, it’s usually non-disabled people telling people with disabilities what they need and what they should want, said Catherine Kudlick, professor of history and the director of the Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability and an adviser on the project. “We’re trying to turn the tables on that and show what happens when you put the person with the disability in the position of being the expert that people need to consult and work with,” she said. “And the students are getting this experience where they’re aiming for something that’s unexpected and unusual.”