[ad_1]
Conner Adcock has been given an opportunity many can only imagine – he’ll be working the runway this month for New York Fashion Week (NYFW).
Conner, who is 7 years old and a second grader at Bobcean Elementary in Flat Rock, was born at 25 weeks weighing just 1 pound 9 oz. He spent the first 229 days of his life in the NICU. At age 2, Conner was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and a developmental delay. He currently requires a wheelchair or walker to assist his movements.
With the help of his parents, Steve and Melissa Adcock, Conner has an active presence on social media where he is able to document his progress in occupational and physical therapy, as well as bring general awareness to children and adults who live with CP.
It was through his Instagram account (@connersjourney) that Gamut Management, a talent agency, discovered Conner and began the whirlwind journey leading to NYFW.
In December 2021, Conner participated in an in-home photo shoot to model Kohl’s adaptive clothing. In January, Conner was chosen to model Tommy Hilfiger’s line of adaptive summer clothing, and he flew to New York City for the photo shoot. NYFW will be the Adcock family’s second time visiting the Big Apple.
“I didn’t know about adaptive clothing before all of this happened,” Melissa Adcock said.
Discovering clothing options for individuals with many types of disabilities has made her responsibilities much easier and gives Conner comfort. Clothing options have many different features such as a larger neck hole, magnets and velcro instead of snaps and buttons, and pants equipped with elastic bands rather than zippers. The shoes are designed to open wider and be able to fit around a foot brace. All of these aspects have added to Conner’s everyday ease and comfort.
“Conner wants to make everyone around him aware of adaptive clothing,” Melissa said. “A lot of people don’t know it exists.”
She hopes more people learn about adaptive clothing and the benefits it offers. Adaptive clothing helps people with all kinds of disabilities: CP, missing limbs, MS and many other conditions. She knows this will give many people the opportunity to live a more independent lifestyle.
In May, Mindy Scheier, the founder and CEO of Gamut Management and Conner’s very good friend, FaceTimed to ask him to model for NYFW’s Runway of Dreams. For this show, a very limited number of models were selected from over a thousand applicants – Conner and his family never applied, but instead received this personal invitation from Scheier.
Scheier started making adaptive clothing in 2016 for her son who has MS. Her son really wanted to be able to wear a pair of jeans and she wanted to make that a reality for him. Tommy Hilfiger was the first brand to pick up the line in 2016, and since then more and more brands have joined.
Conner is very excited to see Scheier back in New York. He also hopes to be able to visit Madison Square Garden as he is a huge hockey fan and even plays in a sled hockey league.
At 7 Conner doesn’t really understand how important a Fashion Week event is, but his parents know he’ll be in awe once they arrive and he can see for himself how big the event is.
“I love the confidence and experience Conner is getting from all these opportunities,” Melissa said.
Ever since Conner was a baby, he and his family were aware of the challenges he might face. Doctors warned he may struggle to walk, communicate and achieve a level of independence. However, Conner repeatedly proves them wrong.
He loves working with the camera for photo shoots, rides the bus to school, plays with his two golden retrievers, Bear and Jax, and has no limit to his knowledge when it comes to hockey or his favorite Mickey Mouse cartoon .
Conner has a significant influence and keeps people educated about CP through his social media and modeling campaigns. He will surely continue on this path and prove that there is no end to what he can achieve when he tries.
“Conner is determined to defy all limitations,” Melissa said.
“The Runway of Dreams show will be held at 6:00 PM ET at the Glasshouse in New York City on Monday, September 12. You can register to watch the Livestream at: https://runwayofdreams.ticketspice.com/a-fashion-revolution -live stream. A recording of the show will be permanently uploaded to the Runway of Dreams YouTube channel.
[ad_2]
Source link