(26 Jun 2015) LEAD IN:
A Canadian couple has created stylish prosthetic covers for amputees hoping to make a fashionable statement about their identity.
Their designs are catching on around the world, but their most loyal fan is a young Canadian Paralympic skier who's even designed his own cover.
STORY-LINE
At 23-years-old, Braydon Luscombe is one of Canada's most accomplished Paralympic alpine skiers.
He's often in the media spotlight and isn't afraid of admitting he's fond of stylish clothing and accessories.
Today, he's trying on a new cover for his prosthetic leg at the Alleles Design Studio in Victoria, Canada.
Luscombe recently met the studio's founders, McCauley Wanner and Ryan Palibroda, they produce an array of vibrant coloured, futuristic-looking prosthetic covers.
The concept is catching on around the world, they've delivered covers to clients across North America, Australia, South Africa and beyond.
"Someone's not really going to grab one of these and put it over their real legs," says Luscombe.
"So I think it's a really cool opportunity that I have over people that I can represent something cool like this and represent a cool company."
Luscombe lives in Duncan, British Columbia, around an hour away from Victoria. He trains several days a week in spring and summer.
His training regimen involves weight training and intensive cardio workouts.
During the winter months, he trains across Canada, in New Zealand and competes around the world.
In 2013, the skier placed fifth in the International Paralympic slalom Competition at Sochi. That same year, he became Canada's national giant slalom champion.
He has recorded eight top-ten finishes at IPC World Cup and world championships since his first World Cup season in 2012.
He competes in the standing category. His leg was amputated after contracting necrotizing fasciitis, a bacterial skin infection which kills the body's soft tissue.
In his spare time, Luscombe enjoys doodling and creating tattoo designs.
He came up with the concept for his own prosthetic cover. Alleles used his Maori-inspired sketches to create his grey and silver, 3D-printed prosthetic cover.
The company supplies Luscombe prosthetic covers in exchange for his modelling. As the company grows, they hope to sponsor him.
McCauley Wanner and Ryan Palibroda founded the Alleles Design Studio in 2013.
Their mission was to create what they call "fashion-forward" prosthetic leg covers at affordable prices.
But their mandate goes much further than that. They're driven to empower amputees to express themselves through a blend of technology, bionics, digital technology and fashion.
They make covers in this Victoria studio with Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene or ABS plastic - it's strong, flexible, lightweight and easy to clean.
The covers are durable, but those with more perforations are often more delicate.
The designers came up with a simple way to attach leather straps to the covers, meaning they can be easily attached to prosthetic legs.
Palibroda and Wanner say they started the company slowly and took time to refine the covers based on customers' feedback.
Now they say they their company is taking off, largely due to word of mouth.
Their Spring/Summer collection of covers is known as 'Myriad', it features ten different covers.
Prices range from $285 to $390 USD.
Today, Palibroda is taking photos of one of their newest covers known as 'Houndstooth', it's named after a popular fashion design pattern.
The look for this particular cover was inspired by men's dress socks and women's legwear.
Brock Roe is a lawyer based in Victoria.
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