NEW YORK FASHION WEEK The fashion industry is coming under steady pressure to widen the spectrum of beauty ideals. Ad campaigns have called out unrealistic beauty standards, major department stores are adding plus-size mannequins, and New York's recent child model laws are designed to protect all models under the age of 18 from exploitation.

On February 6th, the first day of New York Fashion Week, one designer in particular seemed to understand. Carrie Hammer decided to shake things up and feature Dr. Danielle Sheypuk, MS. Wheelchair New York as the first person to "walk" the runway in a wheelchair. "I made the decision to cast 'role models' not runway models,'" Hammer said. "It is so important to me that women have positive body image and are empowered in work and their life. My line makes dresses to fit women. We don't make dresses that women need to fit into.” Hammer said during her show everyone had "chills" and "left very empowered.”

Interested media who wish to interview Ms. Wheelchair New York Dr. Danielle Sheypuk, please contact WORKHOUSE, CEO Adam Nelson via  nelson@workhousepr.com directly or by telephone +1 212. 645. 8006 

Sheypuk, who has used a wheel chair since age 2, said she has a longstanding interest in designer clothing. But there was always something missing: enough role models. "People with disabilities need to see it. It's a confidence booster. It's like, 'if she's doing it, I can do it. Who cares about my wheelchair?’” Sheypuk said she was thrilled to be on the runway and felt natural and confident. "I was just another model in a show, and that's exactly what I wanted.” But there's still plenty of room for more inclusion, said Danielle Sheypuk, Ms. Wheelchair New York 2012.” People with disabilities are an untapped consumer market in terms of fashion," said Sheypuk, a clinical psychologist in New York. "We read the magazines, shop in stores, but nothing is ever pitched to us.” Sheypuk has more fashion-world engagements ahead. She is currently involved in the Raw Beauty Project where high-profile photographers are shooting sexually alluring images of women with disabilities. The project can be seen online and will be exhibited in a Manhattan gallery in the spring, 2014.  

Other designers are also starting to reach out to people who love shopping and fashion, but feel excluded. On Feb. 9DKNY also used "real people" on the runway alongside professional models. And in January, Diesel, the Italian ready-to-wear design company, rocked the industry with its "We Are Connected" campaign, featuring 26-year-old Jillian Mercado in one ad. "Just because we have a disability doesn't mean we have to stay home and hide away from the world,” said Mercado, executive editorial director of WeTheUrban Magazine, a fashion magazine based in New York. In September 2013, beer giant Guinness featured a group of men in wheelchairs in one of their commercials. A couple of months later, for the United Nations' International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the advocacy group Pro Infirmis teamed up with Bahnhofstrasse (the upscale shopping street in Zurich, Switzerland) to display mannequins who were modeled on real-life people with disabilities. An emotional video of each person seeing him/herself as a mannequin in an actual store window quickly went viral.

"The fashion industry was a hard nut to crack . . . but I think there is progress," Sheypuk said, referring to the growing celebration of diverse ethnicities, sizes and shapes. "It's just time to include people with disabilities. It's 2014."

DR. DANIELLE SHEYPUK continues to promote her very real message that people with disabilities are sexy, chic, datable and glamorous – and that they are integrating more successfully than ever into the New York social scene. Using her personal story as a central supporting example, Danielle has received positive response from social media followers all around the world. As Yahoo! News recently stated, “Danielle Sheypuk, a psychologist, can rock a pair of Louboutins, regardless of her wheelchair, and is fighting the stereotypes and stigmas surrounding people with disabilities.” Dr. Sheypuck is regarded as a sexpert and leading commentator on the psychology of dating, relationships and sexuality, specifically among the disabled population. She has established a successful and innovative private psychotherapy practice that employs Skype-based therapy sessions, where she offers advice on dating and romance. Dr. Sheypuk’s approach to life and love as an urban-dwelling professional has been favorably compared to an episode of “Sex and the City.” Her media appearances have included features in The New York Daily News and The London Daily Mail, WNBC New York Nightly News, WNBC Weekend Today in NY, Yahoo!, Sirius XM Doctor Radio, WOR Radio’s Valerie’s New York, and Mperfect on SexTalkRadio. She has been photographed  by fashion/beauty photographers Peter Hurley, Christoper Voelker, and Rick Guidotti. Want more? Visit www.daniellesheypuk.com

Our thoughts and prayers forever reside with Philip Seymour Hoffman's family and his beautiful children.