A Canadian Fashion Startup is Developing Clothes with Braille Designs

 

Alexa Jovanovic, a graduate of Ryerson University’s School of Fashion in Toronto, has started her own fashion company creating clothing with messages written in Braille.

When Alexa joined the School of Fashion, she was determined to become an editor-in-chief at a high-end fashion magazine. But life took a different turn, and in 2020, she decided to create clothing for the blind and visually impaired community.

That’s when Jovanovic decided to launch her company, Aille Design (pronounced ‘eye’). Her clothing has messages written in Braille, which are spelled out with Swarovski crystal pearls.

 

 

Some of the messages include “We’re going to get through this, stay strong,” and “Fashion is for everyone.”

In an interview with the Daily Hive, Jovanovic said, “This community is so often excluded in the fashion industry, and I had a lot of discussions about inclusivity while working with Canadians with vision impairment who helped me with Aille Design.”

In her first year at university, Jovanovic remembered one of her professors talking about the need for diversity in fashion. Then, while brainstorming for her final year’s project, she came across a beaded jacket while shopping. “It clicked with me then: Why couldn’t fashion have more than an aesthetic value, and also have a functional purpose?”

 

 

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