Style over stigma: Fashion designer revamps assistive medical devices

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Destiny Pinto was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis near the start of college in July 2021, after which she heavily relied on compression gear to relieve the pain she felt throughout her body. Pinto initially relied on weightlifting gloves to support her wrists and compress her aching joints. Though helpful, the gloves were bulky and, to top them off, decorated with a slogan that proclaimed “no pain, no gain.”

Clashing against every outfit she wore, her gloves incited frequent questions, adding to the stress of living with her autoimmune disease, which can cause painful swelling around the body’s joints and, in some cases, attack the heart and lungs. Unable to find stylish gloves that soothed her pain and boosted her confidence, she made her own.

Pinto now leads a fashion brand that turns assistive medical devices, including ostomy bags and hearing aids, into fashion accessories. Knowing how the pain of a difficult diagnosis can be exacerbated by the visible reliance on a medical device, she works to bolster the representation of people with disabilities in fashion and destigmatize the use of assistive devices.

“When people would ask me about why am I wearing this compression glove – because it did really stand out – I would just get really emotional, and I would get really anxious about it,” Pinto said. Despite her anxieties, she told herself: “Let me try to change the narrative.”

The World Health Organization estimates that more than 2.5 billion people rely on assistive technologies worldwide – and that number is predicted to increase as the global population continues to age. The global market for medical assistive technologies is expected to reach $24.4 billion in 2025. Pinto works full time as a designer and expands the available options for assistive gear by taking them beyond their traditional, clinical appearance. Nowadays, she wears her red hot compression gloves adorned with silver buckles or lacy white gloves decorated with roses.

Pinto’s brand is also inspired by her best friend, Nikola Nadozirna, who was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease, in 2011 at age 10. She received an ostomy bag in 2022 after years of pills, injections and hospital visits failed to help.

“When I first got the bag, if I’m honest, I hated it. I kind of didn’t accept it as part of my body,” Nadozirna said.

This is not an uncommon experience among people who use ostomy bags, according to Ashwin Ananthakrishnan, a gastroenterologist and director of the Crohn’s and Colitis Center at Massachusetts General Hospital.

“There is a lot of stigma associated with the ostomy … People think of it as sort of an end of their life,” Ananthakrishnan said.

In a recent survey of 350 patients with inflammatory bowel disease, Ananthakrishnan and his colleagues found that having a stoma, an opening in the abdomen used to collect waste into an ostomy bag, was one of the top three concerns. Many Crohn’s and colitis patients get diagnosed in their teens and 20s, formative periods that can be made even more challenging by chronic illness.

The fear of having an ostomy bag – which can range from about 7 to 12 inches long and typically sits along the lower abdomen – is so strong that Ananthakrishnan has worked with patients who grappled with the idea for almost 10 years before agreeing to the procedure. For some, waiting so long put them into life-threatening situations.

Ananthakrishnan believes Pinto’s designs can help combat this fear. “It gives it a visualization that conveys that life can go on in a very enjoyable, meaningful way even with a stoma,” he said.

Nadozirna said working with Pinto to model her designs has been empowering. “Rather than it just being there, it’s a part of the outfit now,” Nadozirna said. According to Pinto, Nadozirna loves the idea of “celebrating these devices rather than concealing them.”

Nadozirna played a central role in advising Pinto as she designed sleeves for ostomy bags. A traditional one-piece ostomy bag system typically consists of an adhesive and a pouch made of a flexible but durable material that is either translucent or opaque.

Nadozirna advised Pinto to enlarge the opening of her stylish sleeves to make it easier for users to insert their bags. As a result, Pinto has been able to create fun and functional sleeves for ostomy bags, including sleek, black pouches and satin-like, olive green covers with intricate draping.

Speaking with people who use assistive devices is a central part of Pinto’s design process.

“I take what’s already existing and I just accentuate it,” Pinto said. When it’s within her budget, Pinto will try to acquire different assistive devices to tailor designs to their specifications and proportions. When devices are too expensive, as in the case of a prosthetic leg, she brings her designs to life using 3D-computer-graphics software.

Pinto’s designs have received significant support on social media. One user wrote on a post showing Pinto’s ostomy bag sleeves: “i was just told that i may have to get one of these in the future and it literally scared me to death but seeing this really gives me hope that it’ll all be ok(3 heart emojis)”

Others chime in with ideas: “This is awesome! I’m a nurse and love this (heart emoji) I wonder if another accessory bag could be for insulin pumps!”

Bowrnamey Thirukkumar, resident doctor and founder of Painting Progress, an organization that uses art for social impact, believes Pinto’s designs can encourage people to use their assistive devices and educate the public about disabilities.

Thirukkumar remembers working with a 7-year-old girl who was given hearing aids though rarely wore them. From a medical standpoint, wearing something to improve the ability to hear seems like an easy decision. But that perspective overlooks the social and emotional challenges that come with wearing an assistive device that makes someone stand out from their peers.

“If medical companies or people that design these things are able to make it funky or just different and fun, then the younger generation … are more likely to comply,” Thirukkumar said.

In addition to hearing aids, compression gloves and ostomy bags, Pinto has designed walking sticks and chest binders. She hopes to see her products on the wider consumer market soon and continue growing awareness of and access to her brand.

“My goal for this brand was just to highlight the stories of those medical devices and give it the recognition and the love and the design that it needs,” Pinto said.