A Quantum Rehab Edge 3 power wheelchair is now part of a new exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
In a Dec. 12 news announcement, Quantum said its Edge 3 is part of the Women Dressing Women exhibit that includes a Hillary Taymour bodysuit worn by model Aaron Rose Philip.
Philip, who has cerebral palsy, uses an Edge 3 power chair with iLevel seat elevation. For the Met exhibit, Quantum said it manufactured an Edge 3 to match the specifications of Philip’s power chair. Philip helped to design the mannequin that models her bodysuit in the display.
Mellissa Huber, Associate Curator of The Costume Institute at the Met, said in the announcement, “I think it’s incredibly significant and important to be able to present fashion this way. We’ve never represented disability in this manner or included a wheelchair in any of our prior exhibitions. I hope that when visitors come through the galleries and they see that type of representation, and they see creativity and beauty being linked with diversity, that they’ll be inspired and that it will really illuminate the point for them that fashion is for everyone.”
In a 2021 interview published in Vogue, Philip, who has walked runways for Moschino and Collina Strada, said, “I started modeling when I was around 16 or 17, after looking at fashion and magazines and never seeing anyone who looked like me. … My work has always held that significance where I feel like everything that I do speaks to something larger than myself.”
The Women Dressing Women exhibition at the Met is open through March 3, 2024.
