'People are ready for this': Alta. modelling agency only reps disabled, visibly different talent
'People are ready for this': Alta. modelling agency only reps disabled, visibly different talent
An Edmonton couple has created a modelling agency that exclusively represents disabled and visibly different talent.
Katie MacMillan and Austin Allanach were inspired to create Kello Inclusive after their daughter Kelty’s experiences as a model.
Kelty has Cerebral Palsy. Her mother said she was inspired to send photos of Kelty to a talent agency after seeing a girl in a magazine with a pediatric mobility aid.
“I remember thinking how rare it was to see mobility aids in, anywhere really. Especially in a magazine,” she told CTV News Edmonton.
“I kind of filed it away until I had some time like we all did during COVID, and decided to, on a whim, send her images into a modelling agency that was based in Calgary.”
Kelty worked with the agency for two years, but her parents felt it wasn’t a good fit for a person with a disability.
Kelty Allanach (Credit: Kello Inclusive)
“There were some great experiences, but we also kinda learned that a lot of that industry didn’t really know what to do with disability.”
The couple learned of an agency overseas that represents persons with disabilities, but were disappointed to learn there was no such agency in Canada.
“Then Austin, who is the entrepreneurial spirit of the two of us said, ‘Well, let's just start one.’”
Kelty Allanach on a runway in Toronto. (Credit: Katie MacMillan)
Six months ago, Kello Inclusive was born.
MacMillian says the reaction has been swift and encouraging.
“In a word, amazing,” she said.
“It speaks to the fact that people are ready for this.”
She said they have already signed over 50 models from across the country, and they’re working with a number of brands, from local, small businesses in Edmonton, to national chains.
“The fact that we’ve moved as quickly as we have, and made as many connections as we have, has been the most exciting part,” she said.
'It's just expanded these incredible possibilities'
Alexis Hillyard is one of those models.
The 40-year-old mom was born without her left hand.
“I am a congenital amputee, which means I was born without, for me in my case, my left hand. The doctors aren’t really sure why or how,” she said.
“It’s pretty rare. You don’t run into people on the street who have the same disability as this. So it’s pretty wonderful to see anybody who is missing a limb, but particularly seeing more people online and in photoshoots and media that represent this body.”
Hillyard has been creating content online for the last six-and-a-half years, but she says having the support of an agency behind her has been a game changer.
“Having Kello step in and be my agent and act on my behalf, it’s just expanded these incredible possibilities for myself.”
“They’ve worked with, already, Superstore, getting me a really awesome brand deal with them, and we’re talking to other companies.”
She said Kello is able to advocate for disabled models in a way other agencies might not think to.
Alexis Hillyard (Credit: Kello Inclusive)
“Knowing that there are some important factors you have to consider when you’re doing a brand deal or a modelling gig, is your space wheelchair accessible, for example?”
“As they are going out into the world and representing disabled talent, they’re also going to be in a way, teaching companies and brands how to be able to expand their practices to include more disabled talent, which is so important.”
Hillyard has connected with a number of families as a result of her disability. She says for many of the children she meets, it’s the first time they’ve met someone else like themselves.
“Whenever I meet these kids online or in person, it’s like this huge weight is lifted off for both of us, because we can just breathe. We just kind of get each other.”
She’s hoping having more models with disabilities in major campaigns will help people with disabilities feel seen and accepted.
“You just feel a bit more seen in yourself. I think that’s what Kello is doing, and it’s really, really awesome.”
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Nahreman Issa.
W5 goes deep into the narco heartland to interview a commander with one of Mexico's most brutal cartels. W5's documentary 'Narco Avocados' airs Saturday at 7 pm on CTV.
When selling a home, Canadians may be exempted from paying capital gains tax on a residential property -- if it's their principal residence. On CTVNews.ca, personal finance contributor Christopher Liew explains what's determined as a principal residence, and what properties are eligible for the exemption.
Health Canada says it will continue to recommend COVID-19 prevention drug, Evulsheld, despite U.S. FDA pulling back its emergency use authorization due to concerns around its efficacy against Omicron subvariant 'Kraken.'
Memphis authorities released video footage Friday showing Tyre Nichols being beaten by police officers who held the Black motorist down and repeatedly struck him with their fists, boots and batons as he screamed for his mother and pleaded, ''I'm just trying to go home.'
Aryna Sabalenka, a 24-year-old from Belarus, who won her first Grand Slam title by coming back to beat Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 at Melbourne Park on Saturday night, using 17 aces among her 51 total winners to overcome seven double-faults.
With a deal under negotiation between Ottawa and provinces, and premiers invited to a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in early February, the issue remains one where the Tory leader's position appears somewhat murky, including to some inside his own party.
A Palestinian gunman opened fire outside an east Jerusalem synagogue Friday night, killing seven people, including a 70-year-old woman, and wounding three others before he was shot and killed by police, officials said.
Using phones and tablets to communicate in encrypted chatrooms, a rapidly growing group of U.S. and allied troops and contractors are providing real-time maintenance advice -- usually speaking through interpreters -- to Ukrainian troops on the battlefield.
Tyler Toffoli and the Calgary Flames rebounded from one of their ugliest losses of the season and picked up an important two points in the Pacific Division before starting the All-Star break.
A Saskatchewan man who had his charges stayed based on pandemic delays in court will be headed back for trial, after a ruling from the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal.
Three downtown business organizations are advocating for the City of Regina to locate a new multi-purpose events centre and central library branch in the downtown core.
The head of the Canada Revenue Agency says it 'wouldn't be worth the effort' to fully review $15.5 billion in potentially ineligible pandemic wage benefit payments flagged by Canada's Auditor General.
The Halifax Thunderbirds hosted its annual Every Child Matters night Friday, which included a pre-game ceremony to draw attention to and honour the victims and survivors of Canada’s residential school system.
Record collectors in Newfoundland will have a chance Saturday to paw through selections from the vast vinyl library belonging to 98-year-old radio station VOWR.
The transformation of a house in downtown Toronto – from a multi-unit with below market rent to a luxury single-family home – is not an anomaly. But rather, housing and legal experts say it is emblematic of why a housing crisis continues to grip the city.
While the deadline to file your taxes is months away, there are some personal tax credits Ontarians may qualify for that require some time pilfering through receipts to get them.
A Laval, Que. man considered one of Canada's most wanted criminals has been arrested in Mexico on allegations of pimping and serious sexual offences. A Canada-wide warrant was for Blake Charbonneau's arrest last year, with a reward of up to $50,000 offered last year for information that could lead to his capture.
On Jan. 29, 2017, six men were killed and five others injured shortly after evening prayer at the Quebec City Islamic Cultural Centre. Montrealers gathered Friday to commemorate the victims and call for action amid a rise in hate crimes.
The Francois Legault government announced the formation of an interdepartmental 'action group' on the French language to find ways to halt the 'decline' of the language in Quebec.
The Parliamentary Protective Service says it expects as many as 500 people to gather on Parliament Hill for an event this weekend to mark the one-year anniversary since the start of the 'Freedom Convoy' protest.
While the deadline to file your taxes is months away, there are some personal tax credits Ontarians may qualify for that require some time pilfering through receipts to get them.
The manager of a Tim Hortons in North Bay was wrong to fire a long-term employee because of her physical limitations, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario has ruled.
W5 goes deep into the narco heartland to interview a commander with one of Mexico's most brutal cartels. W5's documentary 'Narco Avocados' airs Saturday at 7 pm on CTV.
The body of a 29-year-old Sudbury nurse was recovered Wednesday night from a lake near Parry Sound after her snowmobile went through the ice, police say.
The chief of the Williams Lake First Nation says he would support excavating possible unmarked graves at the site of the former St. Joseph's Mission residential school if that's what elders and the community decide is best.
In a season marked by loss and frustration, the Russian forward with the dimpled grin, gravity defying hair and enthusiastic goal celebrations has been a rare bright spot both on and off the ice.
The chief of the Williams Lake First Nation says he would support excavating possible unmarked graves at the site of the former St. Joseph's Mission residential school if that's what elders and the community decide is best.
In a season marked by loss and frustration, the Russian forward with the dimpled grin, gravity defying hair and enthusiastic goal celebrations has been a rare bright spot both on and off the ice.
Kelty Allanach (Credit: Kello Inclusive)
Kelty Allanach on a runway in Toronto. (Credit: Katie MacMillan)
Alexis Hillyard (Credit: Kello Inclusive)
