This Is Not Okay

My pursuit for accessible fashion for little people commenced well before I launched Always Looking Up.

Starting this blog was me finding my way to make my voice and the voices of others heard. All I’ve wanted and all I’m working for is to be seen in an industry that I love. I want to see people like me walking the runways at Fashion Weeks all over the world, I want to see little people on the covers of Vogue, and I want to be able to walk into any store and find clothes that fit me. Since starting this blog there have been strides towards accessibility and representation. But, progress is not linear. There are always setbacks. 

Over the years, I, along with many other little people, have been approached by brands who say they want to design for little people. They will ask for my measurements and permission to use my image to promote their company on their platforms. Some brands, like AUF AUGENHOEHE, are legitimate. They are established companies who design accessible clothing with the best intentions. They do their research and collaborate with members of the little people community during every step of the design process and marketing plan. To them, it is not about putting little people on display and creating a spectacle, it is about designing fashionable and functional clothing to a demographic that has been ignored by the fashion industry.

There are others who say they have the best intentions, who say they want to design for little people, but who go about it the wrong way. They will claim to be an up-and-coming brand wanting to design and advocate for little people. They will ask for measurements and permission to use our image to promote their work. But, in reality, these “brands” are exploiting people with dwarfism, using their bodies to put on a show. I know this because I have been approached by these “brands”, have believed in these “brands” and know people who have had their body and image edited and exploited by these “brands”.

Certain stories are not mine to tell, but I am more than happy to share my platform with anyone who wants to speak out.

For a more detailed explanation of what often happens, my friend Sofiya Cheyenne did share her story on social media and granted me permission to include a link to her story. Click HERE to read it and stay tuned for my conversation with her as a part of my Girl Talk series.

This is my PSA to fashion designers and brands aspiring to enter the accessible design space:

if you want to design clothes for the little people community, then you have to care about the community, you have to listen to the community.

Dwarf bodies are beautiful, not exploitable.