Fashion for Every Body: MIAD Students Design Clothing for People with Disabilities

Israel Villafuerte (far left), Tyson Wenzel (center), Matthew Davis (right). Photo by Andrew Levinson.

The Details

In a community gathering room at Independence First, a nonprofit that empowers people with disabilities to live independently, Tyson Wenzel stood front and center on Wednesday, wearing a sleek black jacket and matching cargo pants. Standing beside him was Israel Villafuerte and Matthew Davis, students at the Milwaukee Institute of Art Design (MIAD) and the designers of his look.

The trio s fashion-forward partnership was born out of a collaboration between Independence First and MIAD, where 12 students enrolled in a pattern-making and construction course were paired into six groups and connected to people receiving services from — or in some cases working for — Independence First.

The students were tasked with designing garments around the specific adaptive fashion needs of the person they were partnered with, learning along the way the lived experiences of people who face a mainstr