NEED TO KNOW
TikTok star Brooke Eby has partnered with adaptive clothing brand Silverts to create the B.E. Collection, a stylish line of garments catered toward younger disabled people
Eby — who was diagnosed with ALS at age 33 three years ago — tells PEOPLE that the partnership was inspired by her own search for trendy yet functional clothing
The influencer spoke to PEOPLE about creating the collection and her favorite parts of the design process
At the intersection of fashion and inclusion, Brooke Eby is advocating for disabled individuals like herself.
The influencer, 36, has made her name online sharing the good, bad and often unavoidably comical realities of her life with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). On a daily basis, Eby shares how her terminal illness has progressed since her initial diagnosis three years ago; over 249,000 TikTok followers have supported Eby as she makes the most of the symptoms that cause her to use a wheelchair and a feeding tube.
Now, Eby is using her lived experience to do even more than make people laugh. The TikToker has partnered with adaptive clothing brand Silverts to launch a groundbreaking collaboration catered towards people like Eby — those who don’t want to let their disabilities stand in the way of their self-expression.
Silverts/ Gesi Schilling
Brooke Eby in photos from her Silverts B.E. Collection campaign.
Speaking to PEOPLE about the launch of her B.E. Collection, Eby recalls the beginning of her health journey and her early endeavor to find more adaptive clothing to help her preserve energy without sacrificing her sense of style. “I luckily stumbled across Silverts in this search, and was even luckier that they wanted to work with me,” she says.
Eby found Silverts to be “extremely functional” throughout the progression of her ALS, which has reached the point of significant paralysis, though she’d maintained her ability to speak, make facial expressions and move some fingers.
When she landed an opportunity to contribute to the established clothing brand, Eby was dually inspired by her neurodegenerative condition and her generation of younger disabled people.
“I wanted to focus on creating pieces for all age groups. I find so many adaptive clothes are catered to the older generation, and there is such a need for young people living with disabilities,” she shares.
Silverts/ Gesi Schilling
Brooke Eby in photos from her Silverts B.E. Collection campaign.
Silverts was completely open to Eby’s feedback and her ideas for reaching that untapped market, and she says they expanded her point of view, too: “I have always loved buying clothes, but I’ve always prioritized comfort over anything else, so I’ve learned a lot from the Silverts team,” she tells PEOPLE.
They curated an array of chic items in the spirit of accessibility, and shoppers can feel just as good about buying their Silverts clothes as they do wearing them. The collection is raising money for Team Gleeson, a non-profit organization that supports people living with ALS.
Silverts/ Gesi Schilling
Brooke Eby in photos from her Silverts B.E. Collection campaign.
While it’s hard to pick a favorite piece from the clothing line, Eby points to two items as particularly representative of her Silverts collaboration and its aims.
“I love the striped dress because I think you could wear it anywhere,” she says, adding, “I’m really excited about the matching set because I think it makes picking out an outfit so much easier.”
Read the original article on People
