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Connor Adcock has been given an opportunity most people can only imagine – he’ll be walking the runway for New York Fashion Week (NYFW) this month.
Conner, 7 and a second-grader at Bobian Elementary School in Flat Rock, was born at 25 weeks, weighing just 1 pound, 9 ounces. He spent the first 229 days of his life in the NICU. At 2, Conner was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and developmental delay. He currently requires a wheelchair or walker to assist with mobility.
With the help of his parents, Steve and Melissa Adcock, Conner has an active social media presence to document his professional and physical therapy progress, as well as raise awareness of children and adults living with CP.
Talent agency Gamut Management contacted Conner and began his whirlwind journey to NYFW through his Instagram account (@connersjourney).
In December 2021, Conner participated in an in-house photo shoot to model Kohl’s tailored clothing. In January, Conner was selected to model Tommy Hilfiger’s summer fashion line and flew to New York City for a photo shoot. NYFW will be the Adcock family’s second time visiting the Big Apple.
“I didn’t know about adaptive clothing before all of this happened,” said Melissa Adcock.
Having access to a wide variety of clothing options for individuals with disabilities made her responsibilities much easier and comforted for Conner. The clothing options have different features such as a large neck hole, magnets and velcro instead of snaps and buttons, as well as pants fitted with elastic bands instead of zippers. The shoes are designed to open wide and fit around the ankle. All of these features add to Conner’s daily comfort and convenience.
“Connor wants to raise awareness about adaptive clothing for everyone around him,” Melissa said. “A lot of people don’t know it exists.”
She hopes more people will learn about adaptive clothing and its benefits. Adaptive clothing helps people with all types of disabilities: CP, missing limbs, MS and many other conditions. She knows this will give many people the opportunity to live a more independent lifestyle.
In May, Mindy Scheer, founder and CEO of Gamut Management and Conner’s best friend, FaceTimed him to model for a “dream runway” at NYFW. A very limited number of models were selected from over a thousand applicants for this show – Conner and his family never applied, but instead received this personal invitation from Scheer.
In 2016, Scheier began making adaptive clothing for her son, who has MS. Her son wanted to be able to wear a pair of jeans, and she wanted to make that a reality. Tommy Hilfiger It was the first brand to launch the line in 2016, and since then more and more brands have participated.
Conner was excited to see Scheer again in New York. He hopes to visit Madison Square Garden as he is a big hockey fan and also plays in a sled hockey league.
At 7 Conner doesn’t really understand how important an event fashion week is, but he knows his parents will be amazed when he arrives and can see firsthand how big the event is.
“I love the confidence and experience that Connor is gaining from all of these opportunities,” Melissa said.
Since Connor was a baby, he and his family knew the challenges they would face. The doctors warned that he may struggle to walk, communicate and achieve a degree of independence. However, Connor consistently proves them wrong.
He likes to work with the camera for photo shoots, rides the bus to school, plays with his two golden retrievers Bear and Jax, has no intellectual limits to talk about hockey or his favorite cartoon, Mickey Mouse.
Conner makes an important impact and educates people about CP through his social media and modeling campaigns. He is sure to go this route and prove that there is no end to what he can achieve when he tries.
“Connor is determined to break all boundaries,” Melissa said.
““Runway of Dreams” show will take place on Monday, September 12 at the Glass House in New York City at 6 p.m. You can register to watch the live stream: https://runwayofdreams.ticketspice.com/a-fashion-revolution Live stream: The show is permanently available on Dreams of Dreams YouTube. It will be uploaded to the channel.
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