A bridal boutique has been commended for displaying one of its wedding dresses on a mannequin in a wheelchair in its shop window.A photo of the display at The White Collection in Portishead, Bristol, went viral on Twitter after it was shared by disabled artist Beth Wilson.
“The new wedding shop in town has a wheelchair using mannequin and it shouldn’t be exciting but it’s the first time I’ve ever seen disability portrayed in a shop window,” Mrs Wilson wrote on Twitter.The 36-year-old has used a wheelchair for the past five years, and said the display made her feel represented.“So often disabled people feel invisible because we don’t see ourselves in the media… especially not modelling beautiful clothes,” Mrs Wilson said.“I don’t need a wedding dress but if I did, I’d definitely be far happier about going to a shop where I knew that I’d be accepted, wheelchair and all.”Mrs Wilson’s tweet was met with numerous positive reactions, but Laura Allen, who owns the bridal shop with her sister Sarah Parker, said they “didn’t think much about it” when they installed the display.“It’s been great having such a positive response, but in a way, it’s quite sad people have done a double take, it shows how rare it is to see a wheelchair in a shop window,” said Mrs Allen.
“It would be nice one day for people to double take just because they like the dress.”The 29-year-old does not believe they are the first to represent disability in this way, but would like other shops to follow their example.“It’s an industry that’s well known for not being inclusive, a lot of bridal shops you go past you see the standard skinny mannequin,” said Mrs Allen.
