Alexa Jovanovic
Access
She is the founder and creative behind the trailblazing fashion company Aille designs and is changing the way we look at accessibility in fashion. Hear from Alexa about what it means to create braille fashion and learn how she went from a simple idea to having a viable product on the fashion market!
Edited By: Faatimah Moosuddee
“Research, no matter what you are doing, is the biggest thing! There is no shortage of people you can talk to, so just ask them and you’ll find out!”
Since the moment we had the idea of creating braille through intricate beadwork, Aille Design has worked directly with the blind and visually impaired community through a co-design process. We combine inclusive design with luxury fashion to challenge industry norms, destigmatize disability, and create a new standard of inclusion. Fashion is for everyone.
Aille Design (pronounced: eye) is an emerging designer brand that is disrupting fashion industry norms and changing the way society views inclusive design. We create beautiful beaded garments using Swarovski crystal pearls that form phrases in braille that are fully legible. These beaded phrases communicate clothing characteristics such as colour, fit, textiles and care content to allow blind and visually impaired braille readers to fully envision the garment. Designed in North America with premium materials, Aille Design products make a fashion statement with a social impact you can feel.
Check out some of their products below!
What’s unique about this concept is that the functionality is displayed through an innovative design element and is created to appeal to a wide range of sighted and non-sighted individuals.
Alexa Jovanovic (pronounced: yo-vaughn-o-vich), founder of Aille Design, creates all of the garments through a co-design process with a diverse team of blind and visually impaired individuals and fashion influencers. This ensures braille legibility, allows products to maintain a fashion-forward aesthetic, provides job opportunities for misrepresented communities and advocates for the importance of inclusive practice.
Very little research currently exists on disabled individuals as consumers, let alone consumers of fashion. This lack of knowledge has led to the design of adaptive clothing that assumes the needs of the end consumer, completely misrepresents what it means to look and feel blind, and disregards the social value of aesthetic appeal.
Braille beadwork is the focal point of our designs and celebrates the beauty of inclusivity. Our pieces can be used for the functionality of the legible braille, can be worn as a unique fashion piece, or worn to advocate for the importance of diversity and initiate conversation about braille and accessibility. By incorporating functional and fashionable braille beading, consumers can feel proud about their purchase and the mission they are supporting, allowing braille beadwork to transform from a niche functional product for blind consumers to mainstream fashion for everyone. We’re making accessibility an expectation not an exception.
