Always Looking Up

In this week’s episode I sat down with Briauna Mariah. Briauna is the Founder and CEO of We Speak Model Management, a non-traditional model management that gives a voice to models who deserve to be celebrated. We discuss the founding of We Speak, the difference between authentic and inauthentic disability representation, and the need to stop being afraid of disability, both inside the fashion industry and in society at large.

Read the transcription HERE

Follow We Speak: Instagram: @wespeakmodels Website: https://www.wespeakmodels.com 

Follow Briauna: @briaunamariah

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin

In this week’s episode I sat down with Briauna Mariah. Briauna is the Founder and CEO of We Speak Model Management, a non-traditional model management that gives a voice to models who deserve to be celebrated. We discuss the founding of We Speak, the difference between authentic and inauthentic disability representation, and the need to stop being afraid of disability, both inside the fashion industry and in society at large.

Read the transcription HERE

Follow We Speak: Instagram: @wespeakmodels Website: https://www.wespeakmodels.com 

Follow Briauna: @briaunamariah

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin

In this week’s episode I am sitting down with German fashion designer Sema Gedik. Sema is the founder and CEO of AUF AUGENHOEHE. Launched in 2017, after conducting years of research and community building, AUF AUGENHOEHE is a fashion label for little people. We discuss the creation and growth of her fashion label, explain the differences between adaptive, accessible, and inclusive fashion, and why designing for disability cannot and should not be treated like a trend and so much more.

Follow Sema: Instagram: @sema.gedik

Follow AUF AUGENHOEHE: Instagram: @aufaugenhoehe.design Facebook: AUF AUGENHOEHE Website: https://www.aufaugenhoehe.design/en

Size Guide - Find Your Fit: https://www.aufaugenhoehe.design/en/pages/size-chart

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 Email: [email protected] Website: https://www.jillianilana.com

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin 

To start I would like to issue a trigger warning. This episode talks about death, grieving, and mourning. If these are triggers for you, please feel free to skip this episode.

In this week’s episode I welcomed back Zane Landin. Zane is a mental health and disability advocate, queer rights activist, entrepreneur, and positive change maker who identifies as Hispanic, Queer, and Disbaled. He is the founder of Positive Vibes Magazine, which is a digital magazine dedicated to telling authentic stories about mental health, wellness, and inspiration. After sharing our individual stories with grief we discuss how being in a state of grief can be disabling, the misconceptions about what grief is and how it affects someone, and how grief, like disability, is a very individual experience.

Read the transcription HERE

Follow Zane: Instagram: @zanelandin Twitter: @LandinZane LinkedIn: Zane Landin

Positive Vibes Magazine: Website: https://positivevibesmag.com Instagram: @positivevibesmag Facebook: @positivevibesmag

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin

This week’s episode is a little different. I sat down with my brother to celebrate our father who we lost on Halloween 2015. We discuss the man he was, his legacy, and share just a few of our favorite memories with him.

Read the transcription HERE

Follow Jillian: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin

In this week’s episode, in honor of October being Dwarfism Awareness Month and tomorrow being International Dwarfism Awareness Day I welcomed back Shelby Holloway. Shelby is a content creator on TikTok and one of my best friends, practically a big sister, in the little person community. We discuss how the disabled and non-disabled communities see the little person community, the difference between advocating for awareness vs. advocating for acceptance, and how being a little person in an average-height world can often feel very isolating and the importance of the little person community.

Follow Shelby: Instagram: @shelbyhollowayy TikTok: shelby_holloway)

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin 

In this week’s episode I sat down with Dr. Ben Barry. Ben is the Dean of Fashion at Parsons School of Design, a disability fashion activist, and researcher. He is currently leading the project Crippling Masculinity that explores how D/deaf, disabled, and nondivergent men and masculine people experience the world and make new worlds through fashion. We discuss the different approaches towards making fashion accessible for the disabled community, the importance of interdependence in fashion, and what the future of fashion is learning today.

Read the transcription HERE

Follow Ben: @bendrakbarry

Follow Parsons: @parsonsschoolofdesign, @sof_parsons Website: https://www.newschool.edu/parsons/

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana, @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 Email: [email protected] Website: https://www.jillianilana.com

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin

In this week’s episode I sat down with Maria Rabaino. Maria is a wheelchair user, certified fitness trainer and founding member of the Rollettes, a wheelchair dance team that empowers women with disabilities to live boundlessly and shift perspectives globally. We discuss why disability belongs in fitness, the impact social media has to make a space more accessible, and the positive force for change that is created when disability communities come together.

Follow Maria: Instagram: @mariarabaino TikTok: @mariarabaino

Follow the Rollettes: Instagram: @rollettes_la TikTok: @rollettes_la YouTube: Rollettes Dance Team

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin

In this week’s episode I welcomed back Bri Scalesse. Bri is a wheelchair user, model, influencer, and advocate. This episode was recorded right after New York Fashion Week ended where Bri wheeled the runways in three shows and absolutely slayed like the true queen she is. We discuss the disability hierarchy and what it means to have the wheelchair user be the icon for the disabled community, what disability representation looked like at this year’s New York Fashion Week and the need for greater representation both on the runways and in the audience, examine what it means to be truly inclusive as a brand or a designer, and so much more.

Read the transcription HERE

Follow Bri: Instagram: @briscalesse TikTok: @briscalesse

Listen to Bri's first episode HERE

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin

In this week’s episode I sat down with Sofia Blasco. Sofia is a dancer, Pure Barre instructor, and co-founder and executive director of The Dancer Movement, an organization that is dedicated to reimagining the experience of dance for people with disabilities. We discuss the origins of The Dancer Movement and developing a teaching style for students with disabilities, the importance of collaboration when making a space accessible, and how and why disability can and should be brought into the fitness and dance worlds.

Read the transcription HERE

Sign Up For The Adaptive + Accessible Pure Barre Class taking place on October 2 at 2:00 PM ET at the Flatiron location HERE

Follow Sofia: Instagram: @sofiablasco97

Follow The Dancer Movement: @thedancermovement Website: https://www.thedancermovement.com

Follow Me: Instagram: @jill_ilana , @alwayslookingup.podcast Twitter: @jillx3456 Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: [email protected]

This episode was edited and produced by Ben Curwin