Selma Blair's red carpet look honors disability activists at Glamour Women of the Year Awards
Actress Selma Blair used the red carpet at this year's Glamour Women of the Year Awards to pay a powerful tribute.
Blair, who received the 2023 Daring to Disrupt Award at Tuesday night's ceremony in New York City, walked the red carpet in an Isaac Mizrahi navy lace gown and a diamond-encrusted cane.
Over her shoulders, Blair -- who began using a cane after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2018 -- wore a custom cashmere cardigan hand-embroidered with the names of seven female disability activists.
The disability activists Blair honored included Alice Wong, founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project; Sinéad Burke, an Irish writer and activist; Keely Cat-Wells, disability rights activist and CEO of Making Space; Maria Town, president and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities; Andraéa LaVant, founder of LaVant Consulting, a disability-focused strategy and communications firm; KR Liu, head of brand accessibility at Google; and the late Judy Heumann, who is, "widely known as the mother of the disability rights movement," according to Lingua Franca, the fashion brand that made Blair's sweater.
Blair, 51, has become a disability advocate herself in the five years she's battled MS, a chronic, often unpredictable disease of the central nervous system and can cause problems with vision, balance and muscle control.
Most recently, in October, Blair partnered with Mizrahi, the designer of her dress, to launch an accessible fashion collection for QVC.
On Tuesday night, Blair said in her acceptance speech that she now thinks of disability as "an olive tree."
"It's been an amazing journey because now I have come to think of disability as an olive tree whose branches extend to find a light in each other, to offer peace and hope and healing," she said, according to Glamour. "Disability crosses all divides. It knows no borders. It is part of being alive, a great peace offering. If we are blessed enough to age, we all become disabled."
She continued, "It is my great honor to be part of a community of women who disrupt everyday."
