Emily Davison is helping visually impaired people with style advice through her blog fashioneyesta.com, just as RNIB has helped her
A glamourous, beautiful, confident young fashion blogger is not remarkable in a digital age where several million are posting daily style advice, but Emily Davison’s blog is written with a different perspective from the rest. Fashioneyesta.com is a lifestyle blog for people with sight loss that aims to bridge the gap between fashion and disability to change people’s perceptions.
Currently studying for an MA in English Literature at Goldsmiths University, Davison, 21, was inspired as a young girl by Hollywood’s golden era and the style of film stars such as Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly.
Despite being born with septo optic dysplasia, which affects her optic nerves and has left her with no sight in her right eye and ten per cent central vision in her left, Davison refuses to allow disability to hinder her love of fashion. Her site offers style advice on make-up, clothes and challenges stereotypical images of unfashionable visually impaired people.
“The media has hypodermically projected an image that visually impaired people are aloof characters, sporting an anorak and dark glasses,” says Davison. “This is a grossly unfair characterisation and must to combated. Fashioneyesta.com serves to present visually impaired people with the tools, the skills and knowledge of fashion, beauty and style to enable them to use their remaining senses to gauge the world of fashion and to create their own unique style.”
Supported by family and friends, including correspondent, Thomas Ankin, who offers male product reviews and perspective features, fashioneyesta.com offers practical and emotional advice.
With ambitions to study further for a PhD and become a children’s author with a series of books that debunk disability, plus a workshop programme for kids, which does the same, Davison is destined for great things. In recent years, she has been supported by the RNIB, particularly throughout her education. “RNIB has helped me in a lot of ways,” says Davison. “In particular, its amazing Talking Books service has helped me read the literature I love.
“It has also been able to give me advice on sight loss and the equipment available to help me – from special sports goggles when I was younger to downloading books for my studies.
“I use the advice team a lot and find them really supportive. I work as a fashion correspondent on RNIB’s Insight Radio and the charity has promoted my blog and encouraged my work as a writer and journalist.”
Davison has also been featured on BBC4’s In Touch radio and BBC’s Ouch Disability and her blog has been praised for its friendly advice. “The main thing that I aim to do is to aid people with the right tools in order for visually impaired people not to feel as if society perceives them as being frumpy due to their sight loss. My advice to others is always remember to be daring and don’t conform to what society expects you to be.”
Find out more at fashioneyesta.com
