Every year, the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalists take part in a design challenge presented with support from Tommy Hilfiger. For 2025, the challenge took on a new and meaningful dimension, when the CFDA joined forces with Sinéad Burke and her organization Tilting the Lens, which works to make a more inclusive and equitable world for everyone by design.
Each finalist was paired with a muse of different abilities, and asked to create a design that would seamlessly bring together the designer’s creativity with the muse’s specific needs for navigating the world. After collaborating for the past four months, the finalists and their muses came together at the Tommy Hilfiger headquarters in Manhattan to present their results to the panel of judges, which included Mr. Hilfiger along with Vogue’s Mark Holgate and Nicole Phelps; Instagram’s head of fashion partnerships Eva Chen; founder of the Fifteen Percent Pledge and Brother Vellies Aurora James; Roopal Patel, SVP of fashion at Saks; CFDA chairman Thom Browne; and Zac Posen, executive vice president and creative director at Gap Inc and chief creative officer at Old Navy. (Nordstrom vice president, fashion director Rickie De Sole, the model Paloma Elsesser, and Ms. Burke joined remotely on Zoom.) It was an inspiring afternoon dominated by a sense of creativity, discovery, and inspiration. Aubero’s Julien Louis put it best when he mentioned “the joy found in universality and specificity.”
Marsha Elle is a Haitian-American bionic model, singer-songwriter, actress, and disability advocate who uses her platform to inspire confidence, inclusivity, and self-love.
Photographed by Hunter Abrams
Jamie Okuma and Marsha Elle
Jamie Okuma and Marsha Elle first met in person shortly before their presentation began. Since Okuma is based in the La Jolla Indian Reservation in California and Elle lives in Miami, their collaboration was entirely virtual, but no less inspiring than the face-to-face ones. “It was really interesting to learn from her that fabric is not a prosthetic’s friend, so we started there. She also wanted to show off her leg,” Okuma stated. Their final dress had a short hem in front and a longer length in back, with a wide band of elastic at the waist and long, flowing geometric sleeves and velcro closures. It was inspired by traditional silhouettes from the 1800s, which appealed to Okuma because it was “accessible to many body types, women that were constantly on the move.” Since Elle is a singer-songwriter and an actress, it was also important for the dress to have a wow factor suitable for the red carpet; that was achieved through Okuma’s signature bold engineered print in black and white with pops of red. “It feels so slinky,” said Elle. “silk in Miami is just elegant.”
Maya Moore is a model, content creator, and writer. After losing her arm at 17, she began redefining beauty and identity on her own terms. At 26, she ditched her prosthetic and found power in showing up fully—sharing her journey through the lens of disability, mental health, and self-expression as a Black, queer woman.
Photographed by Hunter Abrams
Bernard James and Maya Moore
“I just want to say, whoever paired us together, I owe you almost everything,” said jeweler Bernard James of working with Maya Moore. “I can’t think of anyone else I could have done this with, wherever I lacked she picked up.” This was obvious in the expansiveness of their collaboration, which resulted in not just a lariat necklace with no need for a clasp, and another necklace with a pendant that also doubled as a magnetic closure, but also in an aesthetic redesign of Moore’s prosthetic arm and a fashionable option that allowed her to more comfortably wear it. “Maya shared a story about her prosthetic arm and how it hadn’t served her; she wasn’t really wearing it, it was just at her parents house, so we were thinking about how we could rework the arm in order to make it something that she felt powerful in. We removed the [cover] that she didn’t really love because it did’’t match her skin tone, and we created something that complemented her very high fashion aesthetic.” The black leather-esque cropped asymmetric corset holds the arm in place, and also works on its own as ready-made going-out top. “It holds the weight of the arm much better,” Moore said. “I have scoliosis and the traditional socket that fits on most prosthetic arms is very rigid and is very uncomfortable to wear for long hours, and this is a beautiful way to re-imagine holsters and sockets for prosthetic arms.”
Caity Briare is an artist and fashion designer. She is currently in her second year in the Fashion Design and Society Master’s program at Parsons School of Design in New York City. Caity is the founder of her own fashion label, Ca8ty, where she repurposes thrifted garments and enhances them with her signature free-motion embroidery.
Photographed by Hunter Abrams
Heirlome’s Stephanie Suberville and Caity Briare
Caity Briare, a young fashion design student at Parsons, was a dream collaborator for Heirlome’s Stephanie Suberville—and not just because the designer also attended the same school. “Katie’s a really talented designer herself, so my first question was, ‘What’s the hardest thing for you to find in your size?’” Suberville shared. “She said she’d never had a blazer so that’s where we started.” Most of the adjustments were in the shoulders and arms. “I learned a lot from this fitting, having a much bigger armhole and a very rounded sleeve so she could still move comfortably. More than anything, after the challenge was over, I wanted her to keep the pattern so she could cut the jacket in any fabric and she can have it forever.” Suberville also adjusted some of her signature pieces, creating her signature rebozo in a shorter length, and adapting a look from her fall 2025 collection to Briare’s proportions and changing the closures; switching out the zipper for buttons on the top, and elastic for a zipper on the skirt. “Shopping for myself, I always lose part of the design when I have to cut it myself. If I were to buy this skirt and alter it, I would have to cut off the cowl design [at the hem],” Briare explained. “This is the most beautiful I’ve felt in a long time.”
Finnegan Shannon is an artist experimenting with forms of access. They are especially interested in access that intervenes in ableist structures with humor, earnestness, and rage. Their hobbies include making snack platters and looking at the sky.
Photographed by Hunter Abrams
Gabe Gordon and Timothy Gibbons of Gabe Gordon, and Finnegan Shannon
Gabe Gordon and Timothy Gibbons felt an instant kinship with their muse Finnegan Shannon, even before the trio was formally paired up. “Finn is a visual artist and makes work about their disability, so it was really fun learning about their process, seeing their studio, and interacting with the objects in their studio,” Gordon explained. “We wanted [a look that had] something to say about what Finn’s work is all about.” The outfit was dominated by the color blue, a hue often used in visual design and communication around accessibility, and it was embellished with classic disability protest slogans.“Much of my work is about thinking about disability as a culture,” Shannon said. “We visited the Smithsonian archives, they have an amazing button and pin collection, and these are beautifully hand-embroidered versions of some of those.” The look’s pièce de résistance was a telescoping stool upholstered to match Finn’s detachable vest. “I love an elevated access tool, they added. “It’s so exciting to get to take around and have this very chic, cool object that also gives me a place to sit.”
Jerron Herman is an artist compelled to create images of freedom for spaces ranging from Kampnagel and Artscape abroad to the Danspace Project and Museum Mile in NYC. His accolades include a 2024 Fellowship from United States Artists, a 2021 Grants to Artists Award from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, and a 2021 Dance Magazine cover story.
Photographed by Hunter Abrams
Aubero’s Julien Louie and Jerron Herman
Julien Louie and Jerron Herman began by looking at Louie’s latest Aubero collection and “working together to make something that was more adaptive.” Louie explained: “We wanted to work within this realm of universality and specificity, treating it both as a kind of bespoke, almost couture project, and then looking at it through this adaptive lens.” The piece they began with would’ve been impossible for Herman to wear because of its construction and materials. “We had a conversation around dance, movements, asymmetry, and one-handed dexterity,” said Louie. “One of the beauties of our collaboration was accessibility access being not just about closures, but also being about the way in which we are sustainable in society, and how vulnerable communities are often misunderstood about how fabrics affect us,” shared Herman. The finished tunic, an asymmetrical shape inspired by the classic tabard, featured large buttons on both side seams and along with the back, for easy access no matter the wearer’s physicality, and the original stiff material used for a back panel was changed to a compact knit to allow for greater movement. “I would’ve loved to have this after an opening-night performance of mine,” Herman added.
Lachi, who is blind, is a world-touring recording artist and author, award-winning music executive, globally renowned disability inclusion advocate, host of the PBS series Renegades, and a Recording Academy (GRAMMYs) National Trustee.
Photographed by Hunter Abrams
Don’t Let Disco’s Ashley Moubayed and Lachi
Ashley Moubayed and Lachi appeared in matching outfits, proof of the chemistry in their collaboration. “Lachi is insistent on shaping her own visual identity and accessories, so it was less about guiding and more about letting go and listening,” explained the Don’t Let Disco designer. They hand-embroidered Lachi’s cane with hundreds of red beads which resembled corals, in a reflection of her Nigerian roots where the color is a symbol of powerful spirituality. “We didn’t set out to do something that was just generically for the blind, it was really for Lachi. Adaptive fashion is more than just eliminating barriers, but really celebrating and amplifying the voice of the wearer,” Moubayed noted, adding that many of her existing offerings already fit some of the accessibility requirements. As for Lachi’s take, she said, “I love tactile and tangible things so it was an honor to get beaded up and down.” Also, “I love the ease of being able to put on my own necklace, to hook on my own earrings, but the real big thing here was the intentionality of celebrating myself. The way that I advocate as an entertainer is through celebrating all parts of myself relating to my blindness: celebrating my heritage, celebrating my queerness.” She continued: “I really am very in your face; folks with disabilities can be gorgeous, sexy, loud, and dynamic, and we really wanted to celebrate that.”
Andrea Dalzell is a registered nurse, healthcare advocate, disability rights influencer, and most importantly, a strong survivor. She is the first registered nurse in a wheelchair in New York state.
Photographed by Hunter Abrams
Meruert Tolegen and Andrea Dalzell
Meruert Tolegen focused on comfort and adaptability on the design she made in collaboration with Andrea Dalzell, a functional corset that closed in the front, and featured padding so that it wouldn’t dig into Dalzell’s skin. “What I love the most about it is the fact that it can move with my body shape,” the RN explained. “Some days, when you have a disability, things can suddenly become constrictive and too tight, things don’t want to move with you. The fact that this dress has laces at the side means that if I gained weight or lost weight I would still be able to wear it and have the shape I want.” Tolegen designed jewelry and a bag to complete the look. “It was something that I had prototyped previously but we thought it would tie in nicely,” the designer noted. Dalzell added, “The bag works with the dress because usually they are worn around the body to go on a chair, but since it’s made of a soft fabric I can simply keep it at my side.”
Jezz Chung is a multidisciplinary artist, educator, and healing justice practitioner exploring identity, imagination, and neurodivergence, interdependence, and social change.
Photographed by Hunter Abrams
Peter Do and Jezz Chung
We instantly knew we were not in typical Peter Do territory when Jezz Chung walked into the room in a hot pink outfit—a color seldom seen in Do’s muted, minimalist palettes. “I haven’t made a hot pink outfit in a very long time; the last one was for my mom,” the designer said, laughing. “It was a joy for the factory to make something that wasn’t black.” Joy is the descriptor that fits for Do and Chung’s collaboration, whose silhouette otherwise had all the hallmarks of a classic Peter Do design, from the cargo pocket jacket to the workwear-ready jumpsuit, both of which reversed toa soft pink faux fur material. “Jezz said they can never find functional clothing that’s cute,” explained Do. “They sent me a list of all the objects they carry with them every day so every pocket is designed for the things they carry, with magnetic closures for easy access.” Because Chung is also a teacher, the clothes are machine-washable and easy to care for. Chung was delighted with the final result. “The color very much symbolizes to me,” they added. “There’s so much to navigate through the world as a disabled person. So for me, this is my way of saying, I’m not going to make myself small. This helps me feel empowered.”
Aariana Rose is a model and musician with quadriplegic cerebral palsy. She’s actively worked towards an inclusive industry via her editorial features in Vogue, i-D, Dazed, Interview, Teen Vogue, Allure, W, and ELLE. She has been the subject of a profile in The New York Times, which hailed her career as a sign of a more diverse industry.
Photographed by Hunter Abrams
Bach Mai and Aariana Rose Philip
Bach Mai took inspiration from Aariana Rose Philip’s heritage for his design. “She is from Antigua, so there’s a little bit of a dark Caribbean mermaid inspiration,” he said. “But the core of designing the clothes has been learning about her disability, her need, and her mobility issues. One of the things that I learned is that clothing designed for able-bodied people is dependent and centered on symmetry and it needs symmetry to work, which is a big challenge as she lives her life in a wheelchair.” Mai relied on bias cutting because it will “mold and conform to her body and doesn’t rely on symmetry.” Modifications included sleeves that can work no matter what position Philip’s arms are in, with elastic just on the cuffs so that they don’t interfere with her control panel. For Philip, the desire was to make a fabulous garment that could be desired by anyone, disabled or not. “Collaborating with Bach was a true pleasure, he was so receptive to my perspective,” she said. The goal was “to make an adaptive design that, yes, is for me and my body and I can access it, but everyone can have it, everyone can wear it and feel gorgeous in it. Yes, it’s made for me, but you can have it and feel good in it too.”
Bri Scalesse is a model who advocates for disability representation in media and fashion and for air travel rights for wheelchair users.
Photographed by Hunter Abrams
Ashlynn’s Ashlyn Park and Bri Scalesse
Ashlyn Park’s design for Bri Scalesse underwent a few changes before they landed on the final design, an asymmetric dress with a draped bodice, a single bubble sleeve, and Ashlynn’s signature asymmetric pleated detail around the waist. “I went through her Instagram and I noticed that she loved showing her skin, so I suggested we change the design,” Park explained. Scalesse explained, “my arms are the most important to me; they carry me through this world.” On her left shoulder is a tattoo of a dove that she got at 16 in honor of her mom, who passed away in the same accident where she became a wheelchair user. “As I’ve become a woman—I am 31 now—it doesn’t just stand for her favorite song, which is ‘I’m Like a Bird’, it also represents freedom and beauty and strength to me, and my arms, and the power that carries me through this world.” It was evident that the two women inspired each other. “The design was really about listening to her story, because she is a storyteller through her own body,” Park added. “I think I really entered into her universe.”
