Six years ago, when Alexandra Kutas was 16, she decided to be a model, reasoning that she had the looks and determination to succeed.But she has been paralyzed from the waist down since birth, giving her an additional hurdle to overcome in an already competitive industry.
Last year, Kutas had her big breakthrough when she served as emcee of Ukrainian Fashion Week. This year, at 21, she had more success when a portfolio of photographs featuring her was put on exhibit at this year’s Ukrainian Fashion Week.
The exhibition, entitled “Break Your Chains” by Ukrainian fashion photographer Andrey Sarymsakov, opened on Oct. 14. Because of the success of models like Winnie Harlow (Chantelle Winnie), who suffers from the skin pigment condition vitiligo, and Madeline Stuart, an 18-year-old model from Australia who has Down Syndrome, Kutas thinks the era of the “standard” fashion models and conventional concepts of beauty is coming to an end.
“That’s amazing, because it prevents fashion from being dull and identical,” Kutas says.
Kutas was inspired to go into modeling in 2009 when she first saw the model Aimee Mullins appear on the catwalk for designer Alexander McQueen at New York Fashion Week. Mullins was born with a medical condition that resulted in both of her lower legs being amputated.
Despite these instances, models with disabilities are not usually welcome in Ukraine’s fashion industry, Kutas says. She says she hopes to gain acceptance by showing that those with disabilities have a lot to offer.
One of the photos of Ukrainian wheelchair model Alexandra Kutas from the Break Your Chains photo exhibition at the Ukrainian Fashion Week’s main location Mystetsky Arsenal on Oct. 14.
Since her exhibition, Kutas has received offers from photographers for shoots. She is choosy, however, needing to fall in love with an artist’s work.
Besides modeling, Kutas is interested in music, and has been taking singing lessons and writing song lyrics. She graduated from Dnipropetrovsk National University with a diploma in psychology, and used to work as an English-language tutor before concentrating on her modeling career.
Last summer, Kutas volunteered as a psychologist in the Dnipropetrovsk military hospital, helping the wounded soldiers from Donbas.
Kutas also worked on a project to redesign Dnipropetrovsk’s central square to include convenient ramps for disabled access. However, local authorities had no budget for it.
Like many, she finds Ukrainian cities lacking the critical infrastructure for the people in wheelchairs. She contrasts Ukrainian cities with places like New York, which she visited in 2009 as a participant in the Young Press journalist’s club, where disabled access is much better.
Kyiv is especially bad because of the city’s many hills, Kutas says. Even the fashionable cafés on Passage Street haven’t been adapted for people with special needs – they have no ramps or special toilet rooms.
Kutas hopes that her recent success in modeling will help her raise awareness of the difficulties the people in wheelchairs face in Ukraine. She is really optimistic about it.
“Before the EuroMaidan (Revolution), I used to think that the only way to live without limits was to move to another country,” Kutas says. “Now I feel that I can influence the situation. You can indeed fight for your rights here.”
Kyiv Post writer Anna Yakutenko can be reached at [email protected]
