Adaptive Fashion Took Center Stage at This Year’s CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Challenge
This year’s CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund introduced a powerful new focus: adaptive fashion. The concept was unveiled last night during the Fund’s annual challenge competition, where the ten 2025 finalists were each paired with muses from Tilting the Lens—the accessibility and inclusion consultancy founded by Sinéad Burke. The task? To work directly with their muse to create a look in the spirit of their brand, but with adaptive capabilities, reframing inclusive design not as a specialty category, but as a fundamental element of modern luxury fashion.
“It’s important to understand what adaptive really means,” Burke, who served as guest judge for the challenge, told Vogue. “Historically, adaptive fashion has been positioned specifically for disabled people—but the reality is, everyone benefits from more accessible, inclusive design. With this challenge, we’ve really underlined the idea that lived experience is expertise. We have ten extraordinary designers, each partnered with an extraordinary muse, all with different disabilities, identities, and careers. What we hope is that this represents a pendulum shift: that luxury fashion begins to truly partner with disabled people to create better fashion for everyone.”
Tommy Hilfiger—both sponsor and guest judge—helped launch the initiative. A pioneer in adaptive design, Hilfiger’s brand was among the first major labels to invest seriously in this space, launching its first adaptive collection in 2016. “It’s very exciting to have a challenge that’s this inclusive and barrier-breaking,” he said. “Nobody ever thinks about the importance of adaptive fashion. We’ve been working in this space for years, but many designers haven’t yet engaged with it. I’m excited to see the energy in the room.”
This year’s challenge will unfold over the coming weeks, as each designer completes two fittings with their muse in New York City before presenting their final look in a Vogue photo shoot. Throughout the process, Burke’s consultancy Tilting the Lens will serve as advisor, helping designers navigate the nuances of adaptive design while celebrating the individuality of their muses.
That process began last night atop Nine Orchard’s rooftop greenhouse, where the ten designer-muse duos met for the first time. Among the finalists: Ashlynn Park of Ashlyn, paired with Bri Scalesse; Julian Louie of Aubero, paired with Jerron Herman; Bach Mai, paired with Daphne Frias; Bernard James, paired with Maya Moore; Ashley Moubayed of Don’t Let Disco, paired with Lachi; Gabe Gordon and Timothy Gibbons of Gabe Gordon, paired with Finnegan Shannon; Stephanie Suberville of Heirlome, paired with Caity Briare; Jamie Okuma, paired with Marsha Elle; Meruert Tolegen, paired with Andrea Dalzell; and Peter Do, paired with Jezz Chung. Together, designers and muses mingled, shared personal stories, and began mapping their approach to inclusive design.
