We are very excited to bring you this collaboration between fashion brand DEAF IDENTITY and York Fashion Week! Our aims are to work with York Fashion Week to further raise deaf awareness and the inclusivity of the event, and to fundraise for Lollipop at the same time! 15% of the proceeds from t-shirt sales will come to Lollipop!
Keep reading for details on how to get your exclusive t-shirt and wear it with pride!
The t-shirts feature the logos on the back (as above) and YFW in fingerspelling on the front.
DEAF IDENTITY was founded in 2019 by Luke Christian. He was born deaf into a deaf family where the deaf gene is prominent and he wanted to mix his love for fashion whilst raising deaf awareness! Growing up he never had a deaf role role or a deaf group to identify with and always felt his deafness was up for debate…
‘Well you wear hearing aids so you’re deaf’ / ‘Well you don’t look deaf’ / ‘If you can’t sign then you’re not really deaf’ / ‘Turn your hearing aids up, I’m not repeating myself again’ / ‘You’re not that deaf because you can speak to me and have good speech’ / Ugh, never mind, it doesn’t matter’.
Luke wanted to show that deafness has a wide spectrum whether it be through sign language (BSL, SSE, ISL), communicating orally, or being known as CODA (children of deaf adults). He wanted to make it clear that there is no right or wrong way of being deaf, and that deaf people will no longer be dismissed or told ‘never mind, it doesn’t matter’. He wants deafness to be recognised, spoken about and heard.
York Fashion Week is the ultimate celebration of fashion in the amazing city of York! A week of runways, workshops, installations and more between 6th – 10th October 2022.
Inclusivity is key and they want the events to be welcoming and accessible for all – whether you want to take part in YFW, or simply visit one of the events.
They offer an exciting stage for our city’s creative talent to showcase their work, provide a platform for young designers and bring exciting designers, brands and artists into York.
Book your events tickets here: https://www.yorkfashionweek.com/book-tickets
