Nordstrom continues to make waves in the fashion industry by using models with disabilities in its new catalog.
The high-end department store's July catalog features a woman in a wheel chair, a man with a prosthetic leg among other models, the Associated Press reported. Nordstrom has used models with disabilities for nearly two decades, making them pioneers in helping the fashion industry better reflect their clientele.
Nordstrom "is a leader in this space and has been a long-standing supporter of disability inclusion not only in their advertising but also in employment and accessibility in their stores," Meg O'Connell, of the consulting firm Global Disability Inclusion, told the AP.
One model is 26-year-old fashion blogger Jillian Mercado, who has spastic muscular dystrophy. She has been wheelchair bound since the age of 12, but that hasn't stopped her from pursuing a modeling career, the Irish Independent reported.
In the catalog Mercado wears a pair of short, black boots, a leather jacket and her signature pixie-cut lilac hair. A tattooed male model with a prosthetic leg dons a pair of Nikes in another ad. The entire catalog is the kick start to Nordstrom's annual pre-Autumn sale.
Other retailers have also diversified their campaigns. A display for J.C. Penny in Manhattan shows five mannequins including a plus-sized woman, a former soldier who lost parts of both legs in Afghanistan and a man with dwarfism, according to the Irish Independent.
Though more retailers are involving models with disabilities, most still stick to the traditional tall, thin models.
"Identifying companies that utilize models or actresses with disabilities has been like finding a needle in a haystack," O'Connell told the AP.
But Nordstrom doesn't want all of the credit. The catalog is "really about reflecting the customers and communities we serve," Tara Darrow, a Nordstrom spokeswoman, told the AP. "We don't promote it or go out and talk about it. We just think they look great," Darrow said.
