The Met Gala is often viewed as one of the most exclusive nights in fashion. This year, it also became an important moment for accessibility and disability inclusion when a Paralympian and Irish Disability Rights Leader took centre stage.
Irish writer, educator, accessibility consultant and CEO of Tilting the Lens, Sinéad Burke, and her team spent the last 18 months working with the Costume Institute to help shape this year’s exhibition including the creation of a dedicated section titled “The Disabled Body.”
The exhibition featured mannequins modelled on the bodies of disabled people, including Sinéad herself, wheelchair model Aariana Rose Philip and Paralympian, model and actor Aimee Mullins. Mullins’ mannequin featured the iconic hand carved wooden prosthetic legs created by Alexander McQueen for his groundbreaking 1998 “No. 13” runway show, a moment widely regarded as transformative in fashion’s engagement with disability, identity and representation.
More broadly, the exhibition challenged long standing ideas around whose bodies are represented in fashion, while also spotlighting disabled designers who had never previously been featured within the Costume Institute.
Equally significant was the work Sinéad and her team undertook to make the Met Gala accessible for the first time in its history. For an event so heavily associated with its iconic staircase, accessibility had long been a barrier for many people with physical disabilities attending the event.
This year, changes were introduced to create fairer physical access throughout the evening, helping ensure disabled guests could properly navigate and experience one of fashion’s biggest nights.
Representation matters. But true inclusion happens when disabled people are not simply invited into spaces, they help shape them.
Moments like this help challenge perceptions around disability, accessibility and who gets to be visible in culture, fashion and public life.
Progress should not be remarkable in 2026, but moments like this are important because visibility changes perceptions, and perceptions help drive change.
Read more about Tilting the Lens’ involvement with this year’s Met Gala and Costume Institute exhibition here: https://tiltingthelens.com/resources/costume-art-met-gala/
