- Destiny Pinto is a young designer making a big difference
- After being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, Pinto changed her approach to art and began to work in fashion design
- Pinto tells PEOPLE what it was like to be recognized for her trendy pieces, which are both functional and stylish
A young designer found a way to turn a shocking diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis into the beginning of a beautiful new chapter.
Destiny Pinto was studying design in college in 2021 when she was first diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, which almost instantly changed her approach to making art.
“It affected my whole body. It affected my hands and the way I traditionally worked with art because I would do digital drawings,” she tells PEOPLE.
“In my first year of university I had to come up with new ways of designing and come up with new ways to achieve the final results for my work,” she explains. “That’s when I started teaching myself how to design virtually because then I could do everything on a laptop and I could 3D model. It was just a lot easier for me to work with my hands.”
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In her third year at the school, her current project — bringing the funniest fashion trends to assistive medical devices — began to take shape.
“I decided to start a project where I think of the clothes I wear as compression clothing — I wear a lot of compression gloves, ankle compression, things like that — and I reimagined it. I redesigned it for the fashion I would wear.”
Pinto continues, “Around the same time, my best friend also had surgery to get an ostomy bag. That kind of inspired the first two pieces—a compression glove for me and an ostomy bag for her.”
Pinto has been on this journey for over a year and enjoys experimenting with different new fashion trends in the context of medical equipment.
“When I started, it was all very messy and prototype-like. The initial design was just gluing the fabric onto the ostomy bag. We played around with it, and for my glove I sewed it myself,” she says.
“We would start taking photos on Instagram and sharing them online, but it didn’t reach a lot of people,” she says of her early days in public relations. “The people I reached out to were people with certain health issues or who were interested in assistive design. I stuck with it and let that initial sense of purpose drive me.”
Pinto now works on custom pieces that include “walking sticks, diabetes patches, insulin pumps” and more.
“Parents will get in touch with me to make designs for kids because it’s really hard for them to stand out in a school environment where people are so easily bullied and whatnot,” she shares. “They ask me for a design that includes characters they like or their hobbies, to make it easier for them to carry medical devices.”
The project also gave Pinto a place to hone her design techniques in a way that worked for her — and allowed for more options thanks to her tech-driven ways.
“Because I taught myself virtual fashion, I was able to design things like prosthetic legs that I wouldn’t have been able to get my hands on easily,” she says.
The project also gave her the opportunity to connect with so many great people who are looking for designs that meet their needs while keeping up with current trends.
“My favorite for my latest pieces is draping,” she says. “I was recently working with a chest binder, so I physically draped the fabric over the binder to create this amazing device look.”
She continues: “Usually, when you make pieces, you have to sit there and sew them for hours and hours, and I couldn’t do that. But with draping, I can literally take the fabric and just play with it, and it was amazing, then I can even talk to the models I’m working with and modifying.”
Recently, she has been working with model Ezeki (pictured) to combine the old and the new.
“They’re from Ghana, so they’re used to traditional pieces and fabrics,” explains Pinto. “I was able to talk to them about their culture, about their gender identity and make these pieces tailored to them, which was an amazing experience.”
Model Ezeki, photographed by Simran Kaur.
Photo by Simran Kaur
Pinto says the feedback on her work so far has been “incredible” and “overwhelming, in the best possible way.”
“I have as much fun as possible playing and exploring. I try to avoid stress or overwhelm. I have really exciting projects coming up and I can’t wait to connect with my audience and learn more about what they want me to create. I love having those conversations with them and get that contribution,” she says. “The community has been incredibly positive. I’m so happy and so blessed that it’s been so well received.
Pinto believes the trip also helped her grow personally and “deal with her condition.”
“It’s helped me so much to confirm that I have rheumatoid arthritis. Sometimes I tend to downplay my own experience, but I’m so glad I took this personal experience and created this art that resonates with so many people,” she says.
“Seeing the positive reaction and seeing people so happy to have this kind of design in their lives makes me feel positive for the future,” she adds. “To be able to make these designs, but also to have those designs out there for people like me to buy. That’s really exciting.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education