I can't believe I am saying this but I am doing a Ted Talk! It all happened very fast but on Sunday 17th November 2019 I will be taking to the stage at the Bristol Old Vic to do a Ted Talk as one of the fifteen TEDxBristol Speakers 2019! I don't wan't to give too much away but my talk is about rebooting fashion and its inclusivity; or lack of inclusivity currently! My profile on the TEDxBristol Website reads: Why isn’t fashion inclusive of disabled people? There are almost 14 million disabled people in the UK, but the fashion industry seems to be ignoring them. As a result, businesses are losing a potential two billion pounds per month in ‘purple pound’ revenue, and high street shops are forfeiting £267 million. Chloe Ball-Hopkins is a wheelchair user on a mission to find out why such a large sector of society is still invisible to retailers. In July 2018 she pioneered a collaboration with ASOS, the brand that supply kit for Great Britain's Paralympians, to create a jumpsuit which met her need for comfortable, practical and fashionable activewear. The campaign took the fashion and media world by storm… with Vogue, Grazia, Elle and New York Magazine taking up the story. But a year on nothing more has been done. Chloe’s TEDxBristol talk will explore why the fashion industry is dragging its heels, and reboot the mission to create accessible, fashionable clothes for all. Chloe Ball-Hopkins is a freelance journalist, archery champion and wheelchair user from Kingswood in Gloucestershire. She was born with a condition called Arthrogryposis which led to numerous operations on her legs. At four years old she was diagnosed with a form of Muscular Dystrophy which means she has weaker muscles. This hasn’t stopped her taking on a variety of big challenges - from competing in the Para European Championships and winning the Bronze medal as an archer to most recently taking on the fashion industry! Her mission is to create clothes that help people like her feel comfortable and fashionable whilst being in a wheelchair all day. Even something as simple as having a handy pocket to put your phone would help. The industry doesn’t seem to have cottoned on to this huge gap in the market - yet. Chloe has just returned to South Gloucestershire and Stroud College’s WISE Campus to do a degree in Media Production while working within the fashion industry to create inclusive fashion. I have finished my script and have the next few weeks to learn it off by heart ready to present to the audience of 500 in the theatre on the night and not to forget the hundreds of thousands who can watch the live stream of the event! There are so many amazing speakers on the day broken down into three sessions. You can see the full line up on the main website: https://tedxbristol.com/speakers If you would like to get tickets to come and watch me on the big night you can get your tickets here: https://system.spektrix.com/demo1/website/CookieBounce.aspx?redirect_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbristololdvic.org.uk%2Fwhats-on%2Fmini-series%2Ftedxbristol-2019 I am in the reboot session! I hope to see you there!
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