Accessories are often the most fun part of getting dressed. A great bag, a pair of statement earrings, or the right sunglasses can transform an entire outfit. Designer Destiny Pinto believes that same creative freedom should extend to another category of accessories that are rarely designed with style in mind: assistive devices.
While studying at the University of the Arts London, Pinto was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and began wearing compression gloves to manage the pain and swelling in her hands. The gloves worked, but their clinical appearance made the designer feel like they were meant to be hidden. As a student, Pinto started experimenting with how to redesign the gloves she regularly relies on to also feel stylish, personal, and fun to wear.
That idea eventually became By Destiny Pinto, a UK-based label that reimagines assistive devices like compression gloves, ostomy bags, and hearing aids through a fashion lens. Below, Teen Vogue talks with Pinto about turning a personal health challenge into a brand, the scrappy process behind her first designs, and why disability should never limit self-expression.
Destiny Pinto: I've always loved fashion. I'd be in the back of my classroom sketching fashion illustrations instead of focusing on what was being spoken about.
As I grew up I loved fashion, but accessories, particularly. My clothes are more basic and neutral, but accessories are where I love going all out; like, I'd go Vinted or Depop-hunting to find the cutest bags and shoes. Me and my friends, we love our kitten heels and our bags. [Laughs]
DP: It all started because of the pandemic. People had a lot of stress and anxiety, and mine manifested in physical symptoms. I noticed pain in my hands and knees. I'd go to the doctor and they'd tell me it was carpal tunnel syndrome and to stay off my phone. And then I went to [University of the Arts London] and just continued studying, going out, partying, and kind of ignoring this thing that was happening in my body. As you can imagine, the more I ignored it, the worse it got.
It came to a breaking point at the end of first year of university. Finally, I went to the emergency room and put my foot down.… They ran tests and found out it was rheumatoid arthritis (RA).... My mom has a background in medicine, so she helped a lot with figuring out what foods to eat and what foods to cut out.… [I also started wearing a compression glove.]
I noticed how assistive devices, like compression gloves and socks, braces, even massagers, all look so clinical, very medical…. I already had so much anxiety dealing with the condition…. Every time someone would ask me about my compression glove, I would get so overwhelmed…. But at the same time, I was like, “This is giving me so much relief from this condition.”
DP: It was early 2023 and I was going through a really bad flare-up, so I was redesigning the medical device I was wearing.
ChatGPT coming out at that time was literally perfect for me, because I had ChatGPT on one side of my screen and then Blender or Marvelous Designer on the other side, and I would be teaching myself how to do virtual catwalks of these redesigned medical devices.
When I was doing disability research, I remember it being so limited…. I would be in the library, searching through all these texts, and everything was just very outdated…. And then I would search and hunt for brands [doing what I wanted to do], and it was really difficult to find what I was looking for. So I guess, in a way, creating my brand was me creating something that I wanted to see.
DP: I was literally finding scraps of fabric and random stuff. I would take my compression glove and use fabric glue to stick beads and metal studs onto it. I called my best friend—she was at Bournemouth University at the time—to come to London to my flat and model her ostomy bag while I stuck fabric onto it.
It was very scrappy, just because it had never been done before. I was just like, “What if?” But there were also a lot of people helping me since I went to an arts university…. That’s part of the culture I still carry with me as a start-up. [It's all about] having creative people that collaborate just for the love of the game. I think that's really helped me so much. I'm so grateful for all the people that have helped me along the way.
DP: The Adison Shoulder Bag is a bag that you can specifically attach to wheelchairs, mobility aids, and different things. [I started that design process] by creating mood boards. I did research on what similar products exist and how [they work]. I also went on Instagram and reached out to wheelchair users and asked, “Hey, are you open for a quick Zoom call? I'm working on this product and I'd love your input.” People were like, “Yeah, I'm so down.”
When I design particular accessories for medical devices, it's kind of like the yellow-car theory: If you don't think about a yellow car, you're never going to see a yellow car. When I started working on this wheelchair project, I kept seeing wheelchairs everywhere—not that they didn't exist before, it's just that my perception of them was so heightened. Every time I'd see someone in a wheelchair in public, I’d be studying their type of wheelchair, like, Oh, this person can attach it to the back, but this person wouldn’t be able to, [or think about] how they wear their accessories.
When I got the physical samples, I went into a wheelchair mobility-aid shop with my best friend, Nicola, [and asked,] “Can we please try to attach this bag onto one of your wheelchairs?” The salesperson was really nice, but she was also so lost in what was happening…. I remember she said I should be on Shark Tank or Dragons’ Den!
DP: To me, the whole purpose of my brand and my accessories is to tell a story and to be loud. In no way was it to ever hide the device or make it discreet…. The louder you are, the more it gives people with invisible disabilities a voice and a story. Most of the time, the only visible thing about your illness is a device.
[My RA] takes up so much of my mind, my routine, just so much of my life…. Even now, so many of the things I do are based around managing my illness—going to the gym, cooking, the stuff I eat, the clothes I wear, it's all a way to make my illness work with my routine. And these devices are [often] the only things that tell that story.
DP: Someone had ordered a white-lace ostomy-bag cover for her sister-in-law's wedding, which was really sweet. She emailed me and she was like, “I know you have a preorder and it'll probably take a month to make, but her wedding is in two weeks time, is there anything we can do?” Thankfully, I had her size in stock, so I was able to send it to her. But the fact that someone is wearing my designs for a wedding is a bit crazy.
I also got a comment recently from someone saying “I wear your gloves for date night!,” and [I thought], This is why I do it. I want to be making accessories for the girlies to wear on date night, or when they're going out with their friends, or on their f*cking wedding night!
DP: I think there is a big stigma when you're sick or disabled that you’re not supposed to care about how you look or fashion or stuff like that. But in reality, there are so many disabled people, people with chronic illnesses, people with invisible disabilities that do care about fashion and the way they look. There's no certain way to look when you're sick.
I saw this Instagram post recently of Bella Hadid, [who] has Lyme disease, and people were like, “She's out in Fashion Week and she's dressed up…. It’s not checking out, she looks completely fine!” But in reality, [when you have a] chronic illness or disability, there's no right or correct way to look. You can have a great day one day… and the next day, your flare-up kicks in, and you’re in bed and can't move. Just because someone has their makeup and hair done, you don't know how they're feeling on the inside. I could be in so much pain, but look great.
