Made by foot: Designer overcomes disability in style
WHEN Adriana Macias graduated f rom law school, she found no firm was interested in hiring an attorney without arms.
So Macia s, a 41-yea r-old Mex ica n woma n who was bor n w it hout t hem, bega n work i ng a s a w r iter, playwright, motivationa l speaker a nd now a fashion desig ner who has just launched a new clot hing line.
She designed it – as she does nearly ever y t hing – wit h her feet.
She unveiled her debut collection at Fashion Week Mexico last month, where disable d model s s t r ut t e d t he runway – or rolled down it in wheelchairs – showing off her fa ll-winter line of 12 f low ing, v ibra nt ly colou red desig ns made so people with disabilities can easily put t hem on.
She herself uses custommade clothes that allow her to dress herself using her feet.
“I’m putting out t his clot hing line wit h a ll t hese details designed to make the clothes accessible, ver y comfortable, ver y practica l, but a lso ver y formal. I wanted [t he show] to be inclusive because inclusiveness is a ver y important issue,” she said.
“People should not exist for clothes, clothes should exist for people.”
No more prosthetic arms
Macias’s parents taught her from birth to use her feet for the things other children did with their hands.
Today, she eats, drinks, writes, draws, cooks, cleans and even dresses her threeyear-old daughter with her feet and legs.
Sitting cross-legged on her chair, she gestures with her feet when she speaks. Sometimes she rests her chin on her toes, which sport rings and nail polish, or uses them to brush back her long hair.
She used prosthetic arms until she was 20, but had to give them up when the added weight gave her shoulder problems.
“It was toug h goi ng of f to universit y wit hout my prostheses, ta king off my shoes in class to write. It’s considered bad manners to ta ke off your s ho e s ,” s he s a i d w i t h a smi le a nd her usua l l ively determination.
She thrived at university anyway, earning a law degree, but got a cold welcome in the professional world.
“No one wanted to hire me,” she said.
“Ever ybody thought it was weird or shocking that someone wou ld show up at a n office, take their shoes off and apply for work.”
T hat is when she bega n writ ing – she has published three books and a play – and also working as a motivationa l s p e a k e r a nd, now, a designer.
She even holds a Guinness world record for “most birthday candles lit with the feet in one minute”: 11.