Behind-the-scenes of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund adaptive design challenge

Tilting the Lens is partnering with Vogue and the CFDA for this year’s Fashion Fund Challenge

At the beginning of the summer, I received a calendar invite to join a call with my CEO, Sinéad Burke. The subject line read: Vogue x CFDA Fashion Fund Design Challenge. I didn’t yet know what was ahead, but having been immersed in the fashion industry, I knew that the Fashion Fund was an incubator for the next generation of American fashion designers, and if we were involved, maybe it could be an opportunity to drive measurable change within the fashion industry. 

Since that call and throughout the summer, I have had the honour of leading this exciting project. We partnered with Vogue, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), and Tommy Hilfiger on this year’s Vogue x CFDA Fashion Fund Design Challenge, centred on adaptive design. 

The CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund was created in 2003 to support and spotlight emerging fashion designers in the American fashion industry. This year, 2025, the Fund marks its 21st anniversary. The CFDA and Vogue selected ten emerging designers, each of whom will face a series of challenges, one of them being the adaptive design challenge. The winner will receive $300,000 to invest in their brand, along with mentorship and support from key industry leaders. 

CFDA’s list of designers and more details about the challenge.

But what does adaptive design look like in the context of this challenge? According to the Fashion Sustainability Directory (2025), “adaptive design is a specialised field within clothing creation dedicated to producing garments and accessories intentionally designed for individuals with a wide range of physical and cognitive access needs”. This design philosophy prioritises functionality, ease of use, and wearer dignity, moving beyond purely aesthetic considerations to enhance independence and participation for diverse communities”. Based on this definition, feedback from the Disabled community, and existing market examples, it is evident that there is a consistent gap: adaptive fashion often prioritises function at the expense of style. The real challenge here, is to achieve a balance between functionality and aesthetics, to create garments that not only meet access needs but also reflect fashion-forward appeal. But how can we do it? Centering Disabled people and their lived experiences at every stage of the design process is a priority. Through a co-design approach, that ensures that both designers and the Disabled community’s lived experiences are integral elements of the design solution process rather than competitive priorities.

Our role in the partnership

Our role was to embed our co-design framework into the challenge; making sure the Disabled community was equally represented, ensuring lived experiences were valued, and economically compensated. Setting all the parts of the project up for success, enabling equal participation in the design process, and making sure that access remained a priority throughout the whole project. 

With that deliverable list in hand, we started bringing together 10 Disabled muses to be paired with one of the 10 finalist designers. In putting together this cohort of muses, it was really important to me and to my colleagues that we highlighted the diversity and intersectionality within the Disabled community – we tried to represent as many of the disabilities, identities, and lived experiences as possible. 

This curation process has been an incredible journey, one that introduced me to Disabled leaders in New York who are shaping innovation, arts, culture, fashion, and so many other industries. Building relationships with the muses and with the many Disabled people who have contributed to this project has deepened my appreciation for the power of community. It reinforced how important it is to support one another and to spotlight the remarkable work each of us is doing to improve accessibility. 

Supporting an accessible launch event

The challenge was announced at an in-person event on July 16. We worked with Vogue, the CFDA, and Tommy Hilfiger to make it as accessible as possible: digital invitations with colour contrast and screen reader compatibility; an accessible event space with step-free entry, clear pathways, seating options, and quiet areas. We created accessible call sheets and created wayfinding documentation to support people’s confidence and familiarity. For the launch event itself, we curated a guest list that included Disabled advocates, entrepreneurs, content creators, and allies driving change.

I will never forget the energy in the room. This was my very first Vogue event, yet even those who attend these gatherings almost daily came up to Sinéad and me, saying things like, “I’ve never seen people this engaged at previous events. “It’s amazing to see the connections already forming between the muses and the designers…”

It truly felt like we were witnessing something really meaningful.

Since July, Designers and muses have been collaborating to create a piece of adaptive fashion that is beautiful and accessible, combining designers’ expertise with muses’ lived experiences. This ranges from menswear, womenswear, to high jewellery.  

Read the Vogue article: Adaptive Fashion Took Center Stage at This Year’s CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Challenge

Embedding Tilting the Lens co-design framework

After the challenge announcement, we remained committed to supporting both the designers and the muses. Co-design can only succeed when all parties are set up for success, so we recognised that, for some designers, this might have been their first experience engaging with disability or adaptive design.

We also wanted to ensure that the Disabled muses didn’t have to constantly advocate for themselves. Our goal was to make sure the designers gained an understanding of accessibility, co-design, and the importance of learning from the muses’ lived experiences.

To support this, we provided a webinar introducing Disability Justice, co-design principles, accessibility on set, customer insights, and Disabled customer profiles, and the Tilting the Lens Adaptive Design framework. Additionally, we have been in regular contact with the muses, both online and in-person, to ensure they feel supported and that we continue to cultivate this sense of community.

Over the past few months, we’ve seen the connections between designers and muses grow far beyond the challenge. Many of the muses were invited to the designers’ Fashion Week Shows, creating opportunities for Disabled leaders to be present in spaces where they haven’t always been included.

In late October, designers and muses will present their collaborations.

Key learnings and industry opportunities

This project, and the opportunity to lead it, has reinforced some learnings and highlighted some industry opportunities: 

• An urgent need to incorporate co-design: I believe this challenge is more than just a design exercise; it’s an opportunity to spotlight the importance of including Disabled perspectives in the strategies of fashion houses, young designers, retailers, and beyond, an opportunity to demonstrate that adaptive design can be beautiful, and a testament that success will only be possible through co-design that includes Disabled perspectives from beginning to end.
• The importance of sponsorship and leadership buy-in: In my day-to-day work as a consultant, I support companies in transforming their cultures, strategies, and policies to become more inclusive and accessible. Time and again, I’ve seen that meaningful systemic change is only possible when leadership is fully committed. This project was no different, and it’s essential to emphasise that. Having leaders like Vogue and the CFDA spotlighting adaptive fashion is a powerful call to action for the entire industry. It challenges us to reflect on why the fashion world has historically failed to serve the Disabled community, and it presents a real opportunity to begin addressing that gap with intentionality. 
• From consumers to decision makers: Even though this challenge is rooted in co-design and promotes a collaborative design approach, it still positions the Disabled community as consumers. Disabled designers have probably already been through the programme, but the industry, as a whole, needs more psychological safety and support in place for designers. In order to build that, we need to have more data to hold the industry accountable and drive systemic change. 

In response to these opportunities, I feel genuinely hopeful: 

• I’m confident that Vogue’s and the CFDA’s commitment to opening this conversation will have a meaningful impact. 
• I’m also glad to know that within the Tilting the Lens pipeline, several fashion organisations are already working towards change. 
• To bring knowledge and better support current and future Disabled designers and fashion professionals, Parsons School of Design, in collaboration with Tilting the Lens, the CFDA, and the Ford Foundation, is leading a research project to understand accessibility and inclusion within the American fashion system. The project will continue gathering data through the end of the year. 
• And through initiatives like the Parsons Disabled Fashion Student Program, we’ll soon see greater representation emerging.