Shaw woman to take her place in Disability Pride Catwalk show

A woman from Shaw is calling for better representation of disabled people ahead of a disability pride fashion show in Manchester.

Julie Blagborough, 51, is one of 16 models who will take part in the most inclusive fashion show the city has ever staged. 

Aged from 20 to 50s, every model who will travel the runway at the Disability Pride Catwalk at Aviva Studios, home of Factory International, is disabled, neurodivergent or chronically ill. All will wear adaptive fashion designs from a young, ambitious Manchester label called RECONDITION.  

Julie, who herself graduated in fashion from Manchester Metropolitan University in the 1990s, has been a fan of the label since it began last year. 

"I've always loved fashion and enjoy following the latest trends, " she said. "I love sportswear and designer clothes. 

"But since I've been using a wheelchair, I'm much more restricted in my choices. Mainstream fashion doesn't really cater for me, but I don't want to give up on how I look. How you dress is part of your identity. It's important." 

As well as taking part in the runway show, Julie is also a member of RECONDITON's co-design group. One of a regular team of nine disabled women, Julie is able to guide label owner Ellie Brown on which adaptations would make the most difference. She also tests out new designs. 

"RECONDITION is the opposite of fast fashion," she said.  "Everything they design is thoroughly tested, and if the garments are not accessible, it's back to the drawing board." 

Every garment in RECONDITION's denim-centred collection has built in adaptations to make the designs more accessible to disabled people.  

These include front pockets on jeans for wheelchair users; ring pull zips for people with reduced dexterity and sleeves with poppers along their full length to help accommodate prosthetic limbs or medical equipment from feeding tubes to insulin pumps. 

"Before I joined the RECONDITION co-design group I had never felt comfortable discussing my needs as a disabled woman before," Julie said. 

"It's lovely to share experiences and realise that we have so much in common." 

Julie first noticed muscle weakness in her early 20s when she was finishing her fashion degree, specialising in children's wear. Initially struggling to climb stairs and get out of a chair, she put in long hours at the gym in the hope that her strength would improve. 

Eventually she was diagnosed with degenerative condition muscular dystrophy and has been using a wheelchair for the last nine years. 

Adaptive fashion brand RECONDITION was launched in 2025 by Manchester Metropolitan University fashion graduate Ellie Brown. Ellie's eyes were opened to how unaccommodating fashion can be in 2021, when she badly broke her ankle, which resulted in her using a wheelchair for several months. 

Pictured above: Ellie Brown, left, founder of RECONDITION, with members of the codesign group, including Julie Blagborough

Ellie said: "The Disability Pride Catwalk is a safe space for people to celebrate bodies of all kinds whilst enjoying the atmosphere and experience of a runway show. 

"I also hope the event will provoke useful discussions about how fashion - and society as a whole - can take more accountability for inclusivity." 

Research from disability charity Leonard Cheshire found that mainstream fashion in the UK does not meet the needs of three quarters of disabled people. 

According to government figures, a quarter of people in the UK have a disability - that's 16.8m people. And in state pension aged people, the figure rises to almost half (45 per cent). 

The Disability Pride Catwalk: A Space for Each Other takes place at Aviva Studios, Water Street, Manchester, M3 4JQ on Saturday, June 27, 2026, ahead of Disability Awareness Month. Tickets are free. 

More information here: https://factoryinternational.org/whats-on/disability-pride-catwalk/