Disney Parks Blog: Ariella Hendrix, licensed costumes product design manager for Disney’s Consumer Products, Games and Publishing, grew up loving the costumes she saw on stage.
Now, she oversees the development of licensed Halloween costumes and roleplay items—in collaboration with costume companies like Disguise, FUN.com and others—using her creativity to immerse fans in the magic of their favorite Disney stories.
8 comments:
Ariella and her work are just amazing and bring me so much joy. I have seen the wheelchair costumes on ShopDisney and always thought how wonderful it was that this company was making its magic more accessible, so seeing that someone is almost completely focused on growing that aspect of Disney is great. As an able-bodied person, I have never had to think about whether I can get in and out of my clothing, so accessibility in my mind never included clothes. Ariella has truly shown great thought and insight with her work. Size inclusivity is also very nice to see in commercial costumes. When you go costume shopping, it can be disheartening to see only XS - XL sizing, especially when you consider that sizing is not regulated so the XL could in reality be a slightly bigger medium. What I love most about all of her work is how Ariella says, “It all comes back to a desire to develop costumes that make individuals feel truly represented.” You may not think that dressing up as someone or something else will help someone represent who they are, but self-expression comes in many forms, and it’s lovely to see that Ariella is helping individuals do that.
This genuinely makes me so happy. I know there has been a theme in my last comments that I love Disney. But guys, I really don't think you understand how much I love Disney at this current moment. Ariella's work is incredible and should be an industry standard. What I mean by that is that everyone who has ever designed a costume should be thinking about expanding the inclusivity of it. The idea of doing wheel chair covers is so incredible and I’m so glad they expanded it into adult sizes as well. I can’t wait to see what other designs she has in the wings and how she decides to expand this collection. Theme parks and other companies similar to them have notoriously sucked at being plus size inclusive, disney included. Not a single one of their mainstream princesses is plus-size, nor are their suitors. It would’ve been amazing growing up and seeing someone with different body proportions on screen as a main character. This is a qualm I have with lots of different people/places though so I will just continue to push for it. Be the change you want to see right?
I am so glad humans like Ariella are making their way into the higher-ups of big companies. This is a big step forward in terms of inclusion, specifically raising children to grow up without having the burden of fitting into a specific ‘look.’ I am very happy to see that she is working with Disney specifically. I know Disney is so particular about their characters (I think of how strict the protocols are for actors portraying characters in the theme parks), and so I am glad to see that they are approving and promoting more inclusivity in terms of costumes so that no matter what you may look like, you can still dress up as your favorite character. I appreciate all the work Ariella has done within the company, focusing on multiple areas of inclusivity, including LGBTQ inclusivity, disability inclusivity, and size inclusivity. She is truly inspiring.
There are so many things Ariella talks about in this article that I’ve never thought of, but I think one of the biggest keys to inclusivity is to cover small details that we often overlook in our everyday lives. I think the wheelchair costumes are fabulous. I’m sure they are still in a working progress, but allowing people in wheelchairs to participate in Halloween dress-ups must mean a lot. Despite not being able to see the details of how the costumes are put together, I have no doubt that it took many trials and errors. It makes me wonder if there will be other kinds of adaptive costumes, such as ones that can be dressed in one hand. Sizing, on the other hand, is much more ‘common’ than adaptive costumes, but I think there is still a lot of room for growth. Most of the time, the design kind of gets ugly when they are plus-size or petite-size. I like how they are coming up with more designs so customers have more to choose from.
Ariella Hendrix is so awesome!! The work she does just warms my heart. I really really wish more places fought to make inclusive costumes. Halloween is, in my completely objective opinion, the best holiday ever, and everyone, regardless of their ability or size, should be able to celebrate. I personally think it’s awful that people stop dressing up after they reach a certain age. I always loved halloween. I’d wake up extra early for school to get dressed in the costume I’d had prepared for months beforehand. Halloween was the one day of the year that I felt as though I could be myself (yes I understand the irony). It never occurred to me that there were some kids who were unable to fully embrace the holiday due to either their ability or size. It’s awesome that not only did Ariella think of this but she also made these costumes for kids. Also the wheelchair covers are absolutely awesome. I see them in the Disney store all the time.
I love how Hendrix is purposefully working towards making things more inclusive for customers. I think this is really important for costume design in general, especially when the clothing is being sold to the public. It’s kind of unfortunate that costumes like this have not really been made in the past for kids with disabilities. All children should be able to purchase a Disney costume that fits them and does not interfere with their disability. I think the designs that Hendrix came up with for children and adults with wheelchairs are really creative and incorporate the wheelchair quite nicely. I like how the mickey mouse costume incorporates a cart to make it look like the wheelchair is a car. I also thought it was brilliant to put the “dog” from The Nightmare Before Christmas on the wheel of the wheelchair to make it look like it's been moving. It’s also disappointing to learn that Disney is just now working on adding more plus sizes for costumes. Adults also deserve to have costumes that fit them. I see this problem a lot with different clothing brands, which I find quite upsetting.
I loved reading this article about Ariella and her inclusive Disney costumes! I have loved Disney all of my life and I have so many fond memories of dressing up as my favorite Disney characters and princesses for Halloween. It is only fair that everyone should have the opportunity to have this experience no matter their size or disability. I think that the wheelchair covers were a super clever idea that could make any child feel very special and happy on Halloween. Disney has been known to be culturally insensitive and problematic in some ways, so I hope that people like Ariella will be able to change this about the company. I also really like that we are seeing things like this in the theatre industry in general. It seems to be gradually making its way to being more inclusive. I have seen shows that have subtitles or interpreters, casting notices for actors with disabilities, and more diversity on stage. Hopefully we’ll continue moving in that direction.
This is the coolest article. I absolutely LOVE disney, so this makes me so happy to see that there are people out there that care about being more inclusive when it comes to costumes. Something that I thoroughly appreciate is the increasing sizes of costumes. Though I think clothing can always be created in larger sizes, disney, and other companies are working towards better size inclusivity. Another thing that I really appreciate is the creation of adaptive costumes by the company, Disguise. This costume allows people with necessary medical accessories to wear costumes as these costumes come with slits and areas for tubes and wires to poke through. But, it’s not just the costume field that is changing! the same company mentioned in this article is to wants to bring inclusivity to with disabilities in wheelchairs. they created themed wheelchair covers that can be coordinated with a costume and i think that is absolutely amazing. kids with disabilities would feel so much more included and comfortable, and that's what we should all work towards as an industry as well!
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