Bridal shop praised for its inclusive window display

A bridal shop in the UK is gaining international attention for a window display featuring a mannequin dressed in a wedding gown and seated in a wheelchair.

Beth Wilson took to Twitter to share a photo of the display, which she noticed while passing the White Collection Bridal Boutique.

And although she gave the store kudos for creating the only display of its kind that she has seen, Beth, who herself has a disability, emphasised that it shouldn’t be so exceptional.

“The new wedding shop in town has a wheelchair using mannequin and it shouldn’t be exciting but it’s the first time I’ve ever seen disability portrayed in a shop window,” she wrote on Twitter.

The tweet garnered thousands of responses similar to her own, with people using the opportunity to encourage other retailers to take note.

“If only more bridal shops showed this level of inclusivity,” one person commented.

Beth said the scene resonated with her because it captured the importance of feeling seen.

“It was so surprising to see and made me feel represented,” she told Cosmopolitan. “So often, disabled people feel invisible because we don’t see ourselves in the media much, and especially not modelling beautiful clothes.”

She also said the ivy decorating the wheelchair helped cast the vehicle in a positive light.

“Mobility aids are often portrayed as negative things that people want to hide, when actual mobility aids like wheelchairs give us freedom,” she told the publication. “It’s great that they decorated the chair rather than try and hide it away.”

The White Collection’s owner Laura Allen said they were thrilled the window display was getting such a positive response.

“Our thoughts of having one of [the mannequins] in a wheelchair was ‘why not?’,” she tells Yahoo Lifestyle.

“And we didn’t really think too much about it. We haven’t shared any images of the window or spoken about it at all, but the window seems to have spoken for itself! We have loved the positive comments from passersby and hope it means other retail outlets follow suit.”

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