Denver Fashion Week Hosts All-Inclusive Fashion Show During Mother’s Day – 303 Magazine

Guided By Humanity (GBH) provides inclusive and equitable health and wellness services for people living with disabilities seen and unseen. Their values focus on equity, health and compassion. With this in mind, it’s no surprise they’re bringing their accessible services to the Denver Fashion Week (DFW) runway at the All Inclusive show on Mother’s Day — May 12. 

Get your DFW tickets here

With brands like everyBODY Apparel, DEFY Wear, Quána Madison and No Limbits— it sure will be an inclusive celebration.

Guided By Humanity + everyBODY Apparel

everyBODY is a GBH brand that brings accessible apparel and inclusivity to the fashion industry. The founder of GBH and everyBODY, Mary Sims, wanted to create a space and brand that everyone can access and heal together. Since 2004, Sims has been an advocate for the disability community having noticed the health disparities in the community especially in not having access to mental health resources, transportation, financial barriers or even when finding a job. 

With this in mind, in 2017 she started GBH where those with disabilities can access yoga practices that focus on trauma informed teachings.

READ: Just Announced — Denver Fashion Week Spring ’24 Lineup and Tickets

“Trauma informed is really knowing your community, knowing the history being connected to your community and providing certain things in place like all of our classes,” Sims said. 

As a nonprofit, in order to keep those programs going, GBH relies on support from companies like CO Access. CO Access carries out the commitment of health equity and inclusivity. 

 “Colorado Access is excited to support GBH and its commitment to providing inclusive programs, products, and services,” Eileen Forlenza, Sr. Consultant of diversity, equity and inclusion of CO Access, said. “We are aligned in our efforts to promote a more equitable approach to overall health and well-being for all people. 

Not only do the programs help provide comfort, but the other services like GBH’s smoothie bus, create job opportunities — yet another major discrepancy. GBH is also providing jobs through their everyBODY line where they created a designer community.

After making their DFW debut last year, they’re back with a new line this season and it’s sure to be a showstopper. 

DEFY Wear

Owner and designer Kimberly Wren was diagnosed with Early-onset Parkinson’s Disease in 2011 at 41. Parkinson’s affects a person’s ability to move their body properly making mundane things challenging. After feeling frustrated having to rely on family and friends and not being able to find clothing that fit her needs, Wren decided to create her own.

“I want to make getting dressed easier for those who struggle with neurological conditions, dexterity, and range of motion issues, so they can keep their dignity, privacy and independence for as long as possible,” Wren said. 

DEFY Wear empowers people to stay engaged in their lives by offering stylish designs, uniquely created to make dressing easier — they DEFY what limits them. 

“I love hearing how my designs have helped people regain, or at least maintain their independence as well as their dignity,” Wren said. 

With this powerful message in mind, their DFW collection titled, “Fabulous & Fierce,” embodies bold, strong colors, fun patterns and playful fabrics intended for the wearer to feel absolutely “Fabulous and Fierce” and give them the confidence to DEFY what limits them. 

Quána Madison

After collaborating with Guided By Humanity for the Disability Pride and Celebration of the Americans with Disabilities Act event and modeling for them last spring for their DFW segment, the powerhouse that is Quána Madison will be making her DFW debut. 

Madison is an African-American, Queer, multi-disciplinary artist with disabilities, a healing arts facilitator and a well being advocate. Her ability to dive into the world of art and support her holistic well being journey stemmed from her near death experience from Cancer treatments and the sudden onset of life-changing illnesses. To Madison, art nourishes her well being and she’s passionate about expressing herself through abstract expressionist painting and fashion. 

“I combined these two passions, with my interest in sustainable fashion practices,” Madison said. “Wearing one-of-a-kind painted pre-loved garments and fashion accessories emphasizes the point that everyone is a unique masterpiece.” 

With sustainable fashion being at the forefront of her brand, it’s no surprise that Madison sources clothing from thrift stores like ARC, Goodwill and Plato’s Closet. She offers design consultations with customers to create wearable art using clothing and breathe new life into it. 

“These one-off pieces celebrate a person’s individuality and are informed by my edgy abstract expressionist painting style,” she said. “I love styling redesigned painted garments, pre-loved clothes, and new clothing pieces together.” 

Her avant-garde painted fashion style is bold, distinctive, unconventional and celebrates freedom of expression. 

No Limbits

No Limbits is a leading adaptive apparel company that uses fashionable, user centered and functional designs to increase comfort, confidence and independence for people who struggle with dressing due to a disability. They enable consumers to pursue their desired lifestyles through their universal designs. 

“Our core design philosophy is that of universal design — when you design with people with disabilities in mind, you create better products for everyone,” Anna Peshock, the Director of Product Development for No Limbits, said. 

The inclusive brand caters to a diverse range of needs with its product designs, focusing on four categories: sensory-friendly, wheelchair users, upper limp and dexterity differences, and lower limb and mobility differences. 

“The widespread appeal of our sensory-friendly collection can be attributed to its intuitive adaptations,” Peschock said. “It showcases the simplicity and profound impact of adaptive designs, such as the elimination of itchy tags and flat seams, making it universally appreciated.”

No Limbits will bring their universal designs to the runway this DFW spring season. Their collection titled “Colorado Casual,” is a ready to wear line that encompasses a versatile array of products spanning all four of their design categories. Engineered for comfort and infused with confidence, the garments serve as timeless staples that are thoughtfully tailored to accentuate the individuality of each model. 

“As the models walk or roll down the runway, we want the audience to be immersed in the world of adaptive apparel, able to picture themselves in every look and envision how they too can live life with No Limbits,” Peschock said. 

Get your DFW All Inclusive tickets here