Fashion, and the Feeling of Being Included.

This week feels like a reset. Midterms are finally over, which I honestly cannot believe, and I feel like I can actually breathe again. I have been so excited to start pulling out my spring clothes too. Like finally wearing lighter pieces, not layering everything, and actually enjoying getting dressed again. It just feels different when the weather changes.

And I feel like that shift is what got me thinking.

Because as excited as I am to wear new outfits, I kept thinking about how easy it is for me to just throw something on and go. I do not have to think twice about whether something will actually work for me physically. And that is not the reality for everyone.

I actually found this brand randomly through TikTok. The founder posted a video and it came across my fyp, and I almost scrolled past it, but something about it made me stop. And I am really glad I did, because it ended up completely changing how I think about clothing.

The brand is By Destiny Pinto.

What I loved immediately is that her pieces do not feel medical at all. They feel like actual fashion. She redesigned compression gloves into ruched, styled pieces that honestly look like something you would choose to wear, not something you are forced into. And the lace ostomy bag cover completely shifts the way you see something that is usually hidden. It turns it into something soft, styled, and intentional.

And that is what I think makes her work so different.

It is not about making things less visible, it is about making them feel like part of your outfit.

She also created hearing aid pieces that work like jewelry, which I think is such a cool idea because it gives people the option to style something instead of feeling like they need to cover it. It just feels more personal.

And I think what really got me is that it is actually trendy. Like it fits into what people are already wearing. It does not feel separate or like a different category. It feels like fashion. Which means people with disabilities are not being excluded from trends or style, they are actually part of it. And I feel like that is something we do not see enough of.

The more I looked into her, the more it made sense why her work feels so real. It comes from her own life. She was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis while she was in college and had to wear compression gloves that felt really clinical and just not like her. And at the same time, her best friend had surgery and started using an ostomy bag. So both of them were dealing with things that fashion just does not consider at all.

So instead of just accepting it, she redesigned it.

And now her work is getting a lot of recognition. She has been featured in places like British Vogue, BBC, The Washington Post, and Dazed, and she even won the British Vogue and BMW Future Creators competition and collaborated with BMW, which just shows how much this conversation is growing and how people are starting to take adaptive fashion more seriously.

Because when you really think about it, fashion has always been about expression, but only for certain people. Most clothing is designed for a very specific type of body and ability, and everyone else is expected to adjust.

I do not have a direct connection to adaptive clothing, but I kept thinking about it in my own way. I have celiac disease, and I recently found out I can get into national parks for free because of it. It is obviously not the same thing at all, but it still felt like one of those small moments where you feel seen in a way you did not expect. Like something is actually acknowledging your experience instead of ignoring it.

And I think that is what this all comes back to.

Feeling seen should not be rare.

So now I am thinking about it differently. Are brands actually being inclusive, or are they just saying they are. Because adaptive clothing is not extra. It is necessary. And if fashion is supposed to be for everyone, then why is it still not designed that way?

Tune in with me next week on my podcast because I feel like this is something I want to keep unpacking, and I am definitely not done thinking about it.

Go check out her website! https://bydestinypinto.com