All is for All

The inclusive talent agency shattering perceptions

Media, communications and talent agency All is for All is shattering perceptions, breaking down barriers and amplifying the voice of those who are too often sidelined. Good speaks to some of the stars of this vital business, which has inclusivity at its heart.

Even a short conversation with All is for All (AIFA) co-founder Grace Stratton is illuminating. When the 21-year-old takes Good’s call, she’s rushing to a lecture at AUT, where she’s studying law and communications. But in just 15 minutes she still manages to succinctly convey the import of the work All is for All is doing to drive change for disabled people.

After recounting a recent news story about a disabled woman who was told by a recruiter that the only way she would be employed is if “someone felt bad”, Grace responds: “Perceptions are constantly perpetuated that being disabled is a negative trait or something to be avoided. But, of course, what that does is actually further disable a person from reaching their potential.”

And that’s where All is for All comes in, in a now multi-faceted approach: communications, which involves accessible strategy and working with clients to produce campaigns that focus around inclusion; a global content production arm, called Amplify, developed by disabled people and powered by AUT; and, finally, a talent agency, a response to the deficit of disabled models on traditional modelling agencies’ books, which became apparent when All is for All was looking for people for its own campaigns.

The modelling side of the business is pretty fitting, as it was New Zealand Fashion Week when the first seeds of this now thriving business first germinated. Grace approached the “Beyoncé of New Zealand fashion”, Angela Bevan of communications agency SweeneyVesty – with whom All is for All is now partnered – with an idea for a designer clothing e-commerce space with accessibility considerations. From there, the business grew.

“Angela believed in me,” says Grace. “And now two years later [SweenyVesty] are like family. Learning from them is such a privilege because they are experts in their field and a prime example of people who embrace accessibility and diversity meaningfully. Because they can see that it has potential from all spheres. It’s not just socially positive but also economically viable and all of those value systems we need to uphold in business.”

While Grace herself has been included in US magazine InStyle’s “50 Badass Women” and nominated as Young New Zealander of the Year, she is adamant her voice just be a facilitator for others. “There are countless people who actually need help to have their voice be heard. That’s another huge reason why the business started,” she says.

Here we meet five of All is for All’s creative talent.

Amelia Eades

It was through Recreate, an organisation that offers high-quality social and recreational opportunities for young people with disabilities, that Amelia Eades first came into contact with the modelling world. Recreate worked with All is for All in

2019, to put forward a range of their participants for Fashion Week. From there, she was chosen to walk the runway for Starving Artists Fund. Amelia has also been photographed for the All is for All website and Grace describes the young model as “bright, bubbly and caring”, which are qualities that are no doubt what make her so appealing to work with.

But modelling is only one string to Amelia’s bow. She trains twice a week with the Special Olympics swimming team, which she has been a member of for about seven years, and on Fridays and Saturdays she works front of house at Crave Café in Morningside. Plus, she has a volunteer job at Titirangi Community Art Gallery. “I also love doing yoga once a week and I enjoy music when I’m relaxing or reading books,” says the busy 23-year-old, who lives with her two mothers, Janet and Dorina, her dog Nelson and cat Sarah in Auckland’s Mt Albert suburb.

Another hobby is growing things in her vegetable garden. Amelia is part of what is called the MOXIE team at Recreate, which grows vegetables to be made into chutneys for sale. “My favourite part is to sell chutneys and relishes at the MOXIE team stall on weekend markets,” she says. “I like Recreate as it is just like a family to me.”

Amelia is always keen to try out new things and enjoyed the team aspect of modelling and, of course, the nice clothes, but she says the most difficult part was finding shoes that fit her. “I have small feet!” she says.

Janet believes Amelia’s example, along with all the excellent work All is for All is doing, is helping to normalise the presence of people with disabilities in society. “It’s especially pleasing she is able to participate in such a mainstream and visible activity as a person with Down syndrome,” she says, adding that it was such a thrill to see Amelia hold her own so well both in the casting line-up and the fashion show. “She looked like a natural on the runway.”

Latifa Daud

As a New Zealand-born Indian, a Muslim and a woman in a wheelchair, Latifa Daud has definitely had to face more than her fair share of prejudice. Assumptions about her education and work capabilities have been commonplace, and the comments levelled at her about Muslims nothing short of awful. As a result, she says, “I kept my faith quite hidden and carried some shame about being in a wheelchair.” Latifa is working hard to unlearn those messages and in that pursuit finds catharsis in being able to champion the voices of people from minority backgrounds and marginalised groups through her writing.

In that vein, Amplify, the content production arm of All is for All, which is housed on the website in collaboration with AUT, supports emerging talent and disabled people, such as Latifa, to develop and produce long-form written work, blogs, and other multi-media assets. The subjects tackled are intentionally complex topics of relevance to disabled people – people who are often overlooked when it comes to shaping contemporary discourse. What being left out of the conversation means, says Latifa, is that perceptions about people with disabilities, or people of colour, are often perpetuated from an outside perspective. “They are subjective and often don’t reflect the nuances or richness of our communities.”

Which is why it’s so important to create spaces, such as Amplify, where every voice is valued and heard, she says. “It’s been exciting and empowering having a place to tell my story and give a different perspective on life that we don’t see much of in the mainstream media,” she says. “I love being part of a community that is entirely owned by people with disabilities who are proud and unapologetic about their lives.”

Watching disabled people take on the fashion industry has meant a lot to the 27-year-old.

“Growing up in a wheelchair I never saw people like me owning the fashion industry. I hated shopping because I could never find anything that fit my body shape. Shifting that mindset and bringing awareness to physical diversity is crucial work.”

Having completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Education, and a post-graduate diploma in journalism,

Latifa currently works in public service as a portfolio coordinator. Along with the monthly thought pieces she creates for Amplify, she’s also contracted with Khadija Leadership Network for an oral history project about the history of Muslim women in New Zealand. As to what’s next, she’s not sure. Reading and travelling, both being close to her heart, will definitely always be on the agenda, but we predict there’s a lot more to come from this writing talent. As she says, “I’m quiet but my mind is constantly racing.”

“It’s been exciting and empowering having a place to tell my story and give a different perspective on life that we don’t see much of in the mainstream media.”

Hānnah Moore

In her capacity as a model for All is for All, Hānnah Moore has spent her fair share of hours in front of the camera. But it’s behind it she hopes to spend a lot of time in the future. The 20-year-old student is studying photography at Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design in Auckland. She’s particularly interested in the fashion side and says modelling has helped her understand how to make someone feel more comfortable in front of the camera. “Often when you’re photographing people, you kind of forget how intimidating it is,” she says.

In 2019, Hānnah triumphed over her own nerves to take to the runway at New Zealand Fashion Week for Zambesi. While it further immersed her in the industry she hopes to make her career, it held wider significance too. All is for All campaigned to get six disabled people onto the catwalk, the journey of which was chronicled in TVNZ’s Unbreakable documentary series. “That was the first time differently abled models were able to do that and I think that’s a huge achievement Grace accomplished. I feel like the industry is changing slowly and this definitely had an impact on it,” she says. “For me, personally, I just love being a part of something that is so much bigger than just modelling or just taking photos. It’s making a difference.”

While she’s full of admiration for Grace’s skills and character – “she’s so strong and so good at what she does and she really has a heart of gold” – Hānnah herself is no stranger to trying to change the status quo. As a teenager growing up in New Plymouth, she entered beauty pageants, with the hope of making a statement: “I wanted to show people you don’t have to have the stereotypical perfect body to be able to do that.”

Having cerebral palsy has meant Hānnah has been in and out of hospital throughout her life, which made high school especially difficult, for all the obvious reasons but also for the exclusionary nature of her peers who left her out of things she could’ve been a part of. Rather than carry resentment, her experiences have made her a particularly empathetic person. “You never know what people are struggling with.

Sometimes it’s obvious what people’s challenges are but everyone has something on their plate. Just be kind,” she says.

Now flatting with friends, and without the everyday assistance of family, Hānnah has recently realised just how many physical hurdles there are to face as an independent person. She cites the example of establishments having a disabled toilet but the door being too heavy to open.

These types of issues are something All is for

All also addresses by working with businesses to meet the needs of different abled people.

Hānnah was involved with one such working group at The Warehouse where she was consulted on how to make shopping more accessible. “That was a really positive experience,” says Hānnah. “Because it might be a small change but it’s such a huge change when it comes to giving everyone the same opportunities to participate fully in life.”

Mamie Rose MacDonald

Mamie Rose doesn’t have to think too long about what has been the highlight of her modelling career so far. The 20-year-old’s picture, taken by photographer Karen Inderbitzen-Waller, was featured in Italian Vogue’s PhotoVogue. “That’s a big, big one,” she says. “I mean, I never thought that would happen”. The moment was extra special too, as on her father’s side there is Italian blood, Māori too. She speaks a little of both languages, and French, she adds. Her mother, Glenda, mentions Mamie picks up the accent and tone of a language very quickly and Mamie explains that, “some areas of my brain are more developed than the others, because of what I was born with, which is Williams syndrome”. Williams syndrome is a genetic condition that is present at birth and can affect anyone, caused by the spontaneous deletion of 26 to 28 genes. It accounts for Mamie’s unique features, often described as “pixie-like”. People with Williams syndrome are often gregarious and Mamie herself is definitely a people person. “I’m an extrovert. I love doing things, I love meeting new people.” She counts dance and music as some of her big passions, along with travel, and is currently studying for a diploma in tourism. “I really want to be a travel agent. I would love to be in an environment where you have someone who’s really excited to do something and you can say ‘here are the options I have for you’.” Independence is something Mamie is working towards and milestones are happening all the time, with a recent Harbour Bridge climb and trip to Devonport under her belt. She’d like to continue with modelling for All is for All, as she enjoys the creative aspect, but more than that she’s just very proud of the good cause it promotes. Working with the agency hasn’t just been about fashion and fun. “It’s given me something amazing,” she says. “Now, when people look at a disabled person, they won’t go, ‘Oh, no, I’m not sure about that. They’ll go ‘look at that person, she’s actually getting these opportunities. So you know what, I’m going to go and support that person in that opportunity’, rather than going ‘oh, I’m not so sure’.”

Mamie hasn’t always been so comfortable talking about Williams syndrome but something changed when she became involved with the All is for All campaigns. “I found acceptance. It changed my view in the way that I felt about being disabled. Yeah, I felt empowered.”

Kelsey Cornthwaite

Twenty-year-old psychology student Kelsey Cornthwaite says she was ecstatic to be included with the work All is for All was doing. Like many young girls, she’d admired beautiful photos of models on social media, on TV and in magazines. “But I never believed it was possible for me, as I had never seen a disabled model.” Her interest in modelling and fashion has since grown through All is for All because, “I realised it didn’t need to be just a dream, it can be my reality”. Kelsey has been involved in shoots, collaborations on Instagram, and consultancy work for businesses by providing a disability narrative. As someone who uses a power wheelchair, her biggest obstacle that prevents participation in activities is the difficulty getting to and into a place. “Small changes like a ramp or a curb instead of a step, or wider aisles in shops and restaurants can make a world of difference for someone with a disability,” she says. “Access to a lift, to accessible changing rooms and restrooms shouldn’t be as difficult as it is. As more people recognise the challenges disabled people experience it becomes easier to address these issues.”

Academically driven, Kelsey says when she finds herself in a situation where her abilities have been doubted because of her disability, she’s learned to use it as fuel to work harder and prove she is capable. It’s particularly important for her to be a role model and demonstrate to young people, including her younger self, that having a disability does not mean that’s all you are. “My whole life, I’ve been surrounded by messages that made me believe that my disability defined me, as people do not expect me to achieve. Where simple everyday tasks like riding a public bus on my own are considered by others as ‘inspirational’.”

Through the work being done by All is for All, she’s been able to be more open about her disability, which has in turn meant a growing confidence as she’s come to realise the power of her voice in making change.

“I love any of the work I do where I am able to demonstrate to the world that I am more than my wheelchair. Work that challenges people’s perceptions of what a disabled person ‘should’ be like, and to show that I have a lot to offer my communities,” she says.

Kelsey plans include becoming a registered psychologist. Her cultural background and experiences with having a disability have given her an empathy and sensitivity to be able to view things from a different perspective. “I’ve always been drawn to people. I love talking with others, getting to know new people and listening to their stories. I want to be able to make a difference in someone’s life, I want to be able to help others in overcoming adversity when faced with challenging situations.”

“I’ve always been drawn to people. I want to be able to help others in overcoming adversity when faced with challenging situations.”