#katieknowles

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An interview with Katie Knowles

It was an eventful day. The horse was too excitable; it bucked and bolted while throwing model Katie Knowles into the air along with the £4000 dress she was modelling. But while Katie was more concerned over the wellbeing of the dress, everyone else was concerned for the wellbeing of Katie. “I just remember shouting ‘IS THE DRESS OKAY?!’” she laughed as she pushed her long blonde hair behind her shoulder.  

Katie Knowles is an ambassador of campaign ‘Models of Diversity’ – a campaign for disabled models to try and become more featured on the Catwalk –  and part time model for Headline Models. She faced several months of rehabilitation for her spine and, proving the doctors wrong, is now able to walk around with the help of her jewel encrusted crutch – or as she calls it: her “Glam stick”. “It makes them more appealing than your lovely NHS grade crutches.” she said as she twirled her sparkling silver crutch towards her.  

“I have what I like to call: the granny sort of disease. I might be 25, but my spine is about 60 on the inside.”

At just 15 years old Katie Knowles from Jesmond, Newcastle Upon Tyne, was diagnosed with spinal stenosis, a rare case for someone so young. In fact, she was one of the youngest in the country to be diagnosed with the disease.  Spinal stenosis is the narrowing of the bone channel occupied by the spinal nerves or spinal cord. It is a condition that you are either born with or develop as part of the degenerative cascade. It is easy for the condition to go unnoticed in the early stages as the effects develop with part of the aging process. At the age of 22, Katie was paralysed from the waist down and was told by doctors that she may never walk again. However, Katie was determined to not let it get the better of her: “I wasn’t going to let it stop me.”

She was first introduced to the ‘glam stick’ when she attended weight watchers or “fat fighters” as she refers to it, after gaining an excessive amount of weight – a consequence of the disability through exercise becoming less attainable. It was the founder of Models for Diversity Angel Sinclair who introduced Katie to the glam stick Angel then asked Katie if she had ever considered becoming a disabled model before, “As ignorant as I was I’d never heard what one of those was,” she laughed “what the hell is that?”.

Katie hasn’t always aspired to be within the modelling or fashion industry, as she studied a law degree at Northumbria University Newcastle for several years. “My heart lies with law, but this is something which I am very passionate about and feel like I need to make a difference on.”

Katie became an ambassador for the campaign Models of Diversity to make disabilities more of the norm in the modelling world. After her first photoshoot campaign, what she didn’t expect was the press that came from it. “I wanted to throw my phone out of the window!” she exclaimed. “I was getting contacted from Tokyo, Australia, Greece, parts of Europe and most of all America.” However, Katie saw a problem arising from the attention she was receiving from America: “Press globally (as opposed to just the UK) you know, is a lot more accepting of not fitting in the norm of the fashion industry. America is leading the way for disabled models like myself.”

Katie felt discriminated for being disabled within a lot of her modelling career: “I was booked in for 4 bridal – runway shows but was pulled out at the last minute due to concerns for liability on the catwalk. I understand that there are insurance costs, but anyone can have an accident and fall off the runway.” Katie feels like the disability is a massive issue within the fashion industry in the sense that “myself and you guys shop at the same place likely, but there is a lot more chance the mannequin will look like you as it’s not going to look like me.”

London is built on ‘cool’. If you don’t comply by the image of cool, then chances are you won’t be accepted very easily. Katie believes that if someone were to see the galmstick as cool, then it would stand a chance at becoming a trend in London. And therefore, make a difference in the UK for disabled modelling.

It was asked what Katie’s favourite modelling shoot has been so far, she fidgeted in her chair as she thought about her answer. “I think a probably favourite would be the animal related shoots. I’ve once had a tarantula crawl across my face, and have done birds of prey with bridal. But I think my favourite would have to be the horse bridal shoot.” She laughed. “I got put with this really excitable horse, with this £4000 dress on and a gun went off in the background and that was it: the horse was gone, the wedding dress through the air and me on the floor!” Katie has been a horse rider since she was 4 years old and one day wants to be able to bring that into the disabled fashion side of things. “I want to tackle the sports side so like the equestrian disabled fashion, like the riding boots… really expensive boots.” She giggled.

Katie couldn’t imagine her life now without the disability.

“No. I wouldn’t change it. I mean I’d probably take that back on a bad day in bed, but I’ve met so many amazing people because of it and I wouldn’t want to change that.”