Writer and podcaster Ardra Shephard wasn’t born disabled. She started using mobility aids in her thirties: first a cane, then a rollator, sometimes a wheelchair. Shephard searched for disabled style icons for a little fashion inspiration that would accommodate her mobility needs — but couldn’t find any. “I was frustrated and angry, actually, to discover that disabled people were being erased from the world of fashion and beauty,” she says.

Complicating this issue, change rooms are often not accessible, and shopping trips need to be planned around which subway stops have an elevator. The GTA is home to a few long-running adaptive fashion businesses, but many of their offerings skew more utilitarian than fashion-forward. While still uncommon, a few local designers have started adaptive fashion lines to create more inclusive — and chic — clothing for everyone, and that’s worth celebrating in our often-ableist society. “Adaptive fashion in Canada has come a long way,” Shephard says. “It’s exciting to see brand innovation, and that, year over year, we seem to be getting better about including disabled people in ad campaigns and in the media in general.”

The reigning queen of the adaptive fashion scene is Izzy Camilleri, who is known