Creating a talent pipeline with Parsons Disabled Fashion Student Programme

The challenge

Disabled people are marginalised and underrepresented in the fashion industry, with barriers including:

• Physical inaccessibility: From fashion retail spaces to global headquarters, to design ateliers and fashion shows, industry space are rarely built with accessibility in mind, creating systemic barriers for the Disabled community.

• Economic exclusion: The Disabled community still experiences a significant employment gap and faces higher living costs, which makes accessing higher education much more difficult.

• Cultural stigma: The continuous underrepresentation of the Disabled community suggests that the fashion industry is not a welcoming environment for Disabled people, either as customers or professionals. 

• Limited access to fashion education for Disabled students: Traditional educational modules are often lacking in multimodal learning approaches and / or adequate access provisions, success for Disabled students can be difficult to achieve. 

• Need for systemic change to include accessibility in workplace environments: The fashion industry is competitive and fast-paced. Key HR mechanisms such as reasonable adjustment plans, disability leave policies, and inclusive and accessible recruitment processes are yet to become standard practice within the industry. This makes it more difficult for Disabled people to be successful in the fashion industry, even after graduation.

The programme was developed in response to these challenges, aiming to recognise the fashion creativity that comes from the Disabled experience. 

Our approach

The project has been designed to be accessible by default. The application process offers accessible formats and accommodates a range of access needs and communication styles, ensuring that everyone can be considered.

Once enrolled, The New School offers Disabled students support and accommodations through the Office of Student Disability Services, which works alongside faculty and students to co-create accessible solutions throughout the academic term.

• Financial support: From tuition fees, living expenses, and access support, the Scholarship financial packages for this programme range from $50,000 to $90,000 USD per year.
• Mentorship opportunities: Students have access to a network of mentors with lived experience of disability. Mentors provide support and guidance, and help students to prepare for their future careers, facilitating discussion, and building confidence.
• Faculty training: In collaboration with Parsons and Disability Student Services, Tilting the Lens designs and develops disability inclusion and accessibility training for full-time faculty members, ensuring that education professionals are ready to welcome Disabled students. The training aims to increase faculty confidence and awareness, and to create a robust framework that guarantees an equitable education system for all. 
• Engaging industry partners and funders in the process: The funders of this project are active participants in supporting our students to have careers, and take their responsibility seriously to shape a more inclusive fashion industry. From industry events to professional development workshops, they are constantly seeking opportunities to support and nurture the students’ network and prospects.

Outcome and impact

Fashion students 

A total of five students have participated in, or are currently undergoing the programme. Two new students will join in September 2026. 

Caity Briare (Graduated in May 2026)

Caity Briare, also known as Ca8ty studied the MFA Fashion Design and Society programme. She is an artist and designer. Her work explores themes of whimsy and humour, which she describes as “wearable art.” Caity has designed accessories for KidSuper’s Spring/Summer 2026 collection and created custom pieces for celebrities. Caity was selected as one of the muses for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund 2025 Challenge, centred on Adaptive Design.

Elijah Turner (Graduated in May 2026)

Elijah studied the MFA Fashion Design and Society programme. His work uses materiality as a storytelling device, exploring dualities and juxtapositions to rethink the role of clothing in contemporary culture. He hopes to pursue design roles in menswear while also developing an art practice in clothing-based sculpture and digital art.

Giani Rocha-Barnes (Graduated)

Giani Rocha-Barnes studied fashion design in the BFA programme. While he spent some time in the Air Force, he used his free time to go to school and start his own brand. Once Giani left the military, he immediately transferred to Parsons to study fashion design which finally began his career. Within his first year of moving to NYC, Giani interned for Willy Chavarria, and the experience he gained truly inspired him.

Hera Ford (Current student)

Hera is studying in the MFA Fashion Design and Society programme. As a neurodivergent designer, she is interested in decolonising design practices that honour sensory diversity and nonlinear ways of making. In 2024, her work was acquired by the RISD Museum. She has been featured in The New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar, Architectural Digest and on the cover of Frederic Magazine.

Khia Williams (Current student)

Khia is studying fashion design in the AAS programme. For Khia, fashion has always been more than clothing—it is a language through which identity, culture, and emotion can be expressed. Her long-term goal is to transition into a full-time design career, using her craft to tell meaningful stories.

Nia Stanford (Current student)

Nia is studying AAS fashion marketing and communications programme. Nia is strongly interested in being a buyer, creative director, editor, fashion marketer, stylist, or working in fashion PR. She had opportunities to visit the H&M Headquarters (Fall 2024) and the Capri Headquarters (Spring 2025), which allowed her to converse with industry executives and hear their experiences. Nia was also part of the backstage team during Fall 2025 New York Fashion Week.

Scaling the programme and education system

With the experience of two student cohorts now under our belts, and a third due to start in September 2026, we are in the process of creating a blueprint to embed accessibility into the structures of higher education. 

Fashion industry 

• Fashion system change: In developing the profile of the programme, and communicating the skill and artistry of our students, the outcomes of the scholarship are encouraging brands and institutions to embed accessibility into their product development and recruitment programmes. 
• Fosters cross-sector collaboration: We understand that by creating pipelines of Disabled talent, there is a greater urgency to ensure that retail stores, offices, design studios and boardrooms within the fashion industry are accessible.