Accessible Fashion, Part 3: Fashion as a Social Good

The Pulse

In the third of three episodes on Accessible Fashion, Joeita speaks to Alexa Jonovavic, founder of Aille Design, a brand featuring clothing with Braille beadwork. Alexa dives into her collaborative process with members of the blind and partially sighted community. Plus, a fascinating exploration of the relationship blind women have with colour.

Highlights:

• “So Much More Than Clothing” - Opening Clip (00:00)
• “Accessible Fashion as a Social Good” - Opening Remarks (00:28)
• Introducing Alexa Jovanovic of Aille Design (01:40)
• Discovering Love of Fashion & Design (02:36)
• Functionality Versus Aesthetics (04:00)
• Caring for Braille Beadwork Clothing (6:06)
• Learning & Writing Braille (7:27)
• Impact of Braille Beadwork Messages (9:12)
• Establishing Your Fashion Brand (11:18)
• Why Beads for Braille? (13:25)
• Formal and Professional Beaded Attire (15:02)
• Custom & Bespoke Braille Beadwork (19:54)
• Relationship Between Colour & Blindness (21:25)
• Influencing the Broader Industry (24:12)
• Personal Journey Through Accessible Fashion Work (26:11)
• Show Close (29:51)

Aille Design on AMI-tv’s Fashion Dis

Guest Bio:

Now known as "The Braille Fashion Designer," Alexa Jovanovic first began creating Braille fashion as a research project in university where she was taught the importance of disrupting fashion industry norms through innovative design thinking and the co-design process.

Alexa built strong relationships with local blind and partially sighted individuals and together they discussed everything from shopping, clothing trends, and closet organization, to society’s misconceptions of what it means to “look and feel” blind.

About Aille Design - ​https://ailledesign.com/

Our brand name comes from the French verb Aller which means "to go" or "to move forward". We believe inclusivity is the direction the fashion industry needs to move forward in and we're ready to help lead the change!

The pronunciation of our name alludes to the personal "I" since our products help to empower and increase independence, as well as the physical "eye" since braille provides a source of vision and understanding.

Did you know? The two dots in our logo are the braille character for the letter "i". It represents the importance of braille while helping you remember the pronunciation of Aille.

We make clothing and accessories with fully legible braille that are designed alongside the blind and visually impaired community.

Use the braille to describe the physical garment, choose one of our value based phrases, or customize the braille to say anything you want! The tactile braille beadwork is the focal point of each design. It generates conversation about accessibility and inclusion and makes for an incredibly unique gift. 5% of all t-shirt sales are donated to organizations for the visually impaired.

About The Pulse

On The Pulse, host Joeita Gupta brings us closer to issues impacting the disability community across Canada.

Joeita Gupta has nurtured a life-long dream to work in radio! She's blind, moved to Toronto in 2004 and got her start in radio at CKLN, 88.1 FM in Toronto. A former co-host of AMI-audio's Live from Studio 5, Joeita also works full-time at a nonprofit in Toronto, specializing in housing/tenant rights.

Find Joeita on X / Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeitaGupta

The Pulse airs weekly on AMI-audio.

For more information, visit https://www.ami.ca/ThePulse/

About AMI

AMI is a not-for-profit media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians who are blind or partially sighted. Operating three broadcast services, AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French, AMI’s vision is to establish and support a voice for Canadians with disabilities, representing their interests, concerns and values through inclusion, representation, accessible media, reflection, representation and portrayal.

Learn more at AMI.ca

Connect on Twitter @AccessibleMedia

On Instagram @accessiblemediainc

On Facebook at @AccessibleMediaInc

On TikTok @accessiblemediainc

Email [e-mail]