In February 2016, as I was nearing high school graduation, I contacted
Runway of Dreams in New York City to seek valuable mentorship in the
break-through business of adaptive fashion, a passion I had been
developing since 9th grade. A couple of months later, the assistant to
the founder of the company reached out to me explaining that Mindy
Scheier was fascinated with my passion for adaptive fashion as I myself
have a disability. This led to their invitation to New York City for the
first ever Runway of Dreams/Tommy Hilfiger fashion show and Gala. The
event raised well over $600,000! while there I met icons of the industry
as well as publicists, designers and even sat next to Kay Unger, the
chairman of the board of Parsons School of Design, and a famous designer
herself. The evening led to a writing collaboration with Women¹s
ENews/Teen Fuse, a global online reporter of all things women and girls.
That article was published in September 2016 (a link in shown on the home
page), and gave me instant credibility! I didn’t think anything could
possibly get better than this but I was wrong. This would not be the
last time that our paths would cross!
I’m excited to announce, the Runway of Dreams team have asked me to
model in their second annual Gala at the historic Cipriani Wall Street
venue in New York City this summer. Of course I said YES! How can you
say “NO”to such an amazing opportunity? Major name brand companies will
be there supporting Runway of Dreams such as Tommy Hilfiger, Inc. and the
brand owner, PVH. Other honorees include Tobie Hatfield who designed the
adaptive Nike shoes to easily fit over orthotics, as well as Kyle
Maynard, who climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro as a quad amputee. Over the past six
months, I have kept in contact with Runway of Dreams to help with any
preparations for the show. They are designing pieces specifically for
each model. I’m curious to find out what I will be wearing as I roll down
the runway! Well, I will find out in less than a month. Mark your
calendars I¹ll post pictures on this blog site! The big event is on June
8th!!!!!
