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Stephanie Thomas is an American disability fashion stylist, public speaker, professor, author, creative director, and voice actor. Stephanie’s career spans to over 30 years in the area of disability fashion styling and challenging industry ableism.
Stephanie’s success stories and innovations have been featured in many major publications such as The Guardian, Highsnobiety, the New Yorker, Paper, Vogue, and Refinery29.
Stephanie Thomas initiated the innovative “PJ Deejay” campaign. As a part of this campaign, she wore pajamas for an entire year to shed light upon the concern “Why are there more in-store clothing options for pets than there are for people with disabilities?”
Through this campaign, she discussed the concern on-air on almost every chance she got and raised awareness on the limited clothing options for people with physical disabilities.
Stephanie Thomas was born as a congenital amputee in Chicago, and before college, she spent two years as the cheerleader and captain for Chicago Bulls, despite receiving early warnings from her doctors that her non-severe disability might not allow her to walk or dance independently.
Stephanie Thomas graduated with a degree in fashion journalism and communications and her careers range from appearing as an on-air personality at numerous news media and TV stations. Stephanie is the author of the book Fitting in The Social Implications of Fashion and Dressing with Disabilities, which was released in 2020. She currently sits as the board of directors for No Limits Media and on the advisory board for Zappos Adaptive. Stephanie Thomas is also a lecturer for fashion marketing and advocacy communication at Woodbury University in Burbank California.
In 2004, Thomas launched Cur8able initially as a fashion & lifestyle blog. When Thomas was competing in the preliminary pageant of Miss Kentucky in the Miss America Pageant system, she began researching retail trends and clothes for people with disabilities. In 2015, she turned Cur8able into a disability-friendly clothing brand that gained immense love and appreciation from the public worldwide.
In 2018, she launched a podcast, and its social media platform features yearly contributors whom she now calls the “Curators.”
In 2016, Stephanie Thomas presented a TEDx Talk titled “Fashion Styling for People with Disabilities,” at TEDxYYC, which is the third-largest TEDx event in Canada.
Stephanie Thomas hadn’t initially planned to launch a business. However, her life turned out this way because she was always so dedicated to providing solutions that came with the production and manufacture of attires for individuals with disabilities.