The Runway of Dreams Fashion Revolution commemorated its 10th anniversary on Monday night with another star-studded gala during New York Fashion Week. This annual bash lets people with disabilities showcase their flash and dazzle, and amputee models are always among the most beautiful people at the party. And the beauty is much more than skin deep: These people radiate grace from within. They’re gorgeous individuals, not simply pretty faces.
Runway of Dreams regularly features models who’ve graced Amplitude‘s pages in other contexts, and this year was no different: Two of the people onstage this Monday will be very familiar to regular readers and subscribers (and if you’re not a subscriber yet, what are you waiting for?). But the Fashion Revolution also does an outstanding job of introducing new faces within the limb-loss community. That pattern continued as well at the 2024 show.
If you weren’t able to watch the livestream on Monday night, no worries; the recording is already available at Runway of Dreams’ YouTube site. If you decide to tune in, here are some of the amputee models you’ll be able to watch.
Amy Purdy
She was on the cover of Amplitude’s first-ever issue back in 2015, just after becoming a Paralympic champion and a fan favorite on Dancing With the Stars. If you’ve followed Purdy’s journey, you know her outward glamor is surpassed by her inner toughness, authenticity, and refusal to back down from her fears.
Here’s what she posted on Instagram a few hours before Monday’s show: “In a world obsessed with perfection, remember that your body is not a project or a problem. Your body is not a ‘before and after.’ Your body is meant to be lived in, loved in, and challenged. Every wrinkle, scar, stretch mark, or perceived imperfection is a chapter of the book of who you are becoming. Embrace it!”
Follow her on Instagram @amypurdygurl.
Icy Parris
He was still going by “Keith” when he appeared in our March 2021 issue. In a feature about the amputee leaders of the Millennial and Gen Z cohorts (“Being the Change: The ADA Generation Comes of Age“), Parris told us: “When I was little, I always wanted to look up to someone who was just like me.”
Lots of people of all ages look up to Parris these days: His social media feeds have more than 100,000 followers all told. “I’m so excited to finally announce that I’ll be modeling in the 2024 Runway of Dreams: A Fashion Revolution Runway Show during New York Fashion Week!” he wrote on Instagram the other day. “Runway of Dreams empowers people with disabilities to have confidence and self-expression through inclusion in fashion and beauty.”
Follow this dude @icyparris on TikTok and Instagram.
Michelle Colon
It’s been a busy 12 months for Colon. During the span she has appeared in Victoria’s Secret model and in an episode of the “Dating Different” series on YouTube.
Reflecting on the latter experience, she wrote: “Having a ‘disability’ doesn’t define all of who I am, and I try to make that very clear. We grow up learning what ‘“’society’ or our upbringing believes is beautiful & acceptable. Breaking that cycle is important, being open to unlearning and taking an understanding of the world around us can literally save us from what people think ‘the norm’ is.”
She’s on Instagram @michellej.c_.
Alex Schwartz
Bionic Al has a lot going for him, starting with his hometown and his taste in baseball teams (both of which we share). He’s also got a gigantic social media following and a nonprofit (Forging Mettle) that helps amputees afford prosthetics.
“NEVER thought as a dude with no feet from #STL that i’d be walking as a runway model, chrome blades and all,” he wrote last year on Instagram. Elsewhere he has touted “the importance of community and being your own advocate” as a healthcare consumer, particularly one with limb loss/difference.
Check him out online at alex-schwartz.com/forging-mettle.
Sekai Muscutt
Growing up in Zimbabwe, Muscutt was routinely shamed because of her congenital limb difference. She got her revenge on the haters by launching a hugely successful line of beauty products called Keeper Beauty. “In a world that is constantly encouraging you to be someone else, setting your own beauty standard is the ultimate act of self-love,” the company’s website says.
That embody’s Muscutt’s own philosophy. “When we allow people to enter our minds and feed us their narrative of us, we become slaves to their perception of who we are,” she says. “We lose sight of who we are and who we can be. My hope for you is that you can rise and find your true worth.”
That’s Runway of Dreams’ mission in a nutshell.
Raymond Diaz
We couldn’t confirm much info about this model. According to his bio at Zebedee (his talent agency), Diaz “has actively shared his image to inspire and empower both himself and others with disabilities. Ray firmly believes in the value of his inner strength and confidence, which radiates through his daily life.”
We’re reasonably sure (but haven’t been able to verify) that this is the same Ray Diaz who lost his legs in a traffic accident on the Staten Island Expressway in 2014, then went on to play sled hockey with Team USA’s developmental squad a few years later. “You get new scars from guys jousting at you with their hockey sticks, spikes up, but you just want to feel more alive, so you shake off the pain and keep going,” that Ray Diaz told aCurator magazine.
Learn more about Diaz on Instagram @daddynewlegs.
Emily Fogle
Here’s one of those “new faces” we were talking about earlier. Fogle, a childhood cancer survivor, started posting on TikTok two years ago and has amassed roughly 30,000 followers. A prolific poster, she puts up new videos pretty much every day.
A good chunk of Fogle’s content revolves around day-to-day hacks for managing life with limb loss. (This includes her single most-watched video, with 4+ million views, about the crap people give her for using an disabled-parking pass.) But she also indulges her passions for fashion, food, travel, sports, and so on. There’s also the occasional pet reel, and plenty of random other stuff.
Follow Fogle on tiktok @emilyyfogle.