Video - November 3, 2021
Product Spotlight: Izzy Wheels.
Izzy Wheels was founded by Irish sisters Ailbhe (pronounced Alva) and Izzy Keane from Galway, Ireland. Izzy and Ailbhe have been best friends all their lives. They have always loved fashion and playing dress-up together. Even as little girls their favourite thing to do was decorating Izzy’s chair for special occasions.
The idea for the creative enterprise, that produces energetic and colourful designs to be placed on wheelchairs was inspired by Izzy, who was born with Spina Bifida and is paralyzed from her waist down. Izzy has always seen her wheelchair as a symbol of freedom but never felt it expressed her personality. Ailbhe created a range of colourful wheel covers for her sister’s chair as her final year project in The National College of Art and Design (NCAD) in 2016.
Izzy Wheels is bridging the gap between fashion and disability, all while armed with creativity and an inclusive message that’s hard not to be inspired by.
Having decorated wheels has always given Izzy a huge confidence boost. The vibrant wheels open up a positive conversation about her wheelchair and act as a conversation starter.
Every pair of Izzy Wheels is specially made to order for each person. All of the wheel covers are unique and made with love in Ireland. Every order is carefully hand-wrapped in beautiful luxury rainbow packaging that has been thoughtfully designed.
Disability fashion is a massively underserved area of design. Wheelchairs look the same as they did 100 years ago. My sister has a very positive relationship with her wheelchair and she wanted to express that. She sees it as a symbol of her ability, not her disability.
In 2017 Izzy Wheels began collaborating with other amazing artists, designers, and brands from around the world to expand their collections and raise money for disability charities. Izzy Wheels have now collaborated with 90 famous designers from across the globe. The sisters quickly became well-known for their exuberant and playful fashion.
Izzy Wheels became the first disability fashion brand to collaborate with some of the world’s most famous brands. In 2019 they teamed up with Barbie to create a range of designs for a new and inclusive wheelchair Fashionista Doll. In 2020 they created two limited edition wheel cover collections with Japanese pop icon Hello Kitty.
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Izzy Wheels has been featured in some of the world’s top global publications including Vogue, Teen Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Forbes, Oprah Magazine, It’s Nice That, TechCrunch and many more. The brand has won 15 national awards and both sisters were named on Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2018.
