When fashion designer Mindy Scheier’s middle child, Oliver, came home one day and told her he wanted to wear jeans to school rather than sweatpants (宽松运动服), she was faced with difficulty. Oliver has a rare disease, which causes him to struggle with everyday tasks, such as dressing himself. Would she tell her 8-year-old son that he couldn’t wear what everyone else got to wear, or could she figure out a way in which he could? She chose the latter, change a pair of jeans for him. And with that, the Runway of Dreams Foundations was born.
Scheier started the foundation in 2014 to make adaptive clothing more accessible and fashionable for people with disabilities (残疾). As part of its purposes, Runway of Dreams Foundation partners with brands to make stylish suitable clothing lines available to the disabled, creates scholarships for students focusing on suitable clothing and helps with employment opportunities for people in the disability community.
“It is truly unbelievable how one pair of jeans has changed the world,” Scheier said. “Creating adaptive clothing for people with disabilities and trying to make change happen in the fashion industry felt so much bigger than just Oliver or just me. It felt like something that had to happen. The future of fashion is inclusion (具有包容性). We’ve been dressing different body shapes, and now it’s time to dress different abilities. I am so excited that Runway of Dreams Foundations really started a movement to make change happen.”
“They told my mother that I wasn’t going to be able to do anything for myself, but I proved them wrong. What people like me can do with a disability is the same as someone who doesn’t have one. It might look a little bit different, or a little bit strange, but it can be done. I never opened up a magazine and saw someone that looked like me. So it’s good now for disabled young kids to see a model in an ad with a disability, ” said Oliver.
【小题1】How did Scheier react to Oliver’s request?| A．She turned it down. |
| B．She cared little about it. |
| C．She designed special clothes for him. |
| D．She asked him to turn to Runway of Dreams Foundation for help. |
| A．The goals of Runway of Dreams Foundation. |
| B．The popularity of Runway of Dreams Foundation. |
| C．How Runway of Dreams Foundation was founded. |
| D．How Runway of Dreams Foundation raises money. |
| A．It should focus on normal people. |
| B．It will lead to changes in the fashion industry. |
| C．It has little influences on disabled people’s life. |
| D．It fails to take fashion designing into consideration. |
| A．He never reads magazines. | B．He feels ashamed of himself. |
| C．He dreams to become a model. | D．He appreciates suitable clothing. |
