By Ed Cullinane
A model stunned celebs by removing one of her 3D bionic arms – on a catwalk at London Fashion Week.
Tilly Lockey, 17, decided to pull off one of her printed limbs – in front of a star-studded audience.
She lost her arms to meningitis when she was a baby and has worked on the design and development of her ‘Hero Arms’ with Open Bionics since she was nine.
The event at London’s Freemason Hall was her first show and was sponsored by Models of Diversity.
Celebs in the audience included Love Island’s Tasha Ghouri, Kate Moss’s sister Lottie Moss, Jo Wood, Venessa Feltz, and Made In Chelsea’s Stephanie Pratt.
After the runway, Wood and Ghouri made their way over to congratulate Tilly on her walk and find out how her tech works.
Tilly took part on behalf of clothing designers Unhidden, and bionic arm designers Open Bionics.
Tilly said: “I just felt inspired and super confident.
”This runway is about being different and embracing who you are and I am proud of who I am.
“I’m a survivor and I love how I look and how my bionic arms make me feel.
”I was just being myself. I can’t wait to walk the runway again.”
Samantha Payne, the co-founder of Open Bionics said: “That was an incredible moment.
“It felt provocative and shows how confident Tilly is in her body and personality.
“Fashion is about finding ways to express your individuality and so it felt perfect for the runway at London Fashion Week, and yet at the same time the fashion industry does so much to prevent us seeing and celebrating bodies that look different.
“We’re grateful to Models of Diversity for challenging the status quo within the fashion and beauty industry and celebrating all forms of beauty.”
Hero Arms are designed with stylish magnetic covers meaning that users get to swap styles and change how their bionic arms look.
The Hero Arms are 3D-printed multi-grip bionic arms with electromyographic sensors in the socket that sense subtle muscle movement beneath the skin.
A Hero Arm user lightly squeezes their muscles to control their bionic fingers.
The runway organizers, Models of Diversity, said: “Working with Open Bionics, well we put on the show of our dreams.
“The model cast is how MOD has envisaged catwalks for the past 14 years, celebrating beauty in all its different forms and featuring top fashion designed to be inclusive.
“When the image of beauty and desirability never looks like you, it can have a damaging effect on your self-esteem and, at times, make it incredibly difficult to accept your own body.
“This show was a positive, revolutionary catwalk of inclusion that we hope enacts real change across the media, beauty and fashion industry.”
Produced in association with SWNS Talker
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