Une Touche d’Or

Acknowledging how idiosyncratic experiences regarding vision have informed her design process, Myrna Lily Sisson’s exploration of sensory design began with a case study on integrating braille labeling into fashion products. Sisson expanded this disability consciousness within her Parsons Fashion Product thesis collection, "Une Touche d’Or" (A Touch of Gold). This collection challenges the dichotomous intersection of luxury and accessibility within the fashion system through high-end sensory design, integrating braille poetry into hand-sculpted jewelry.

The golden honeybee serves as a conceptual anchor for this collection, selected for its historical association with legitimacy, longevity, and industriousness. With ties to regal emblems, it encourages a critical examination of perceptions of power and desire. This is brought to life through a dripping gold motif, evoking flowing honey suspended in motion through metal-craft. 

When investigating what constitutes value in fashion, it stands out that luxury prospers on exclusivity, while accessibility is associated with utility. Sisson explores their juxtaposition. By incorporating braille poetry within precious materials and expressive forms, this collection proposes a model of luxury that is inclusive, multi-sensory, and intimately interactive, inviting wearers to touch, communicate with, and embody the pieces. 

Sisson believes aspirational values of luxury are not compromised when thoughtfully designed to expand access. Enhanced inclusivity renders these products pro-social tools, with de-marginalization and advocacy for braille literacy as key outcomes. Integrating accessible elements (braille labels, image descriptions, tactile sketches, etc.) broadens the market, creates more awareness, and fosters positive business goodwill. 

This collection emphasizes how accessibility expands the expressive possibilities of luxury design, creating products that engage diverse sensory experiences, redefine what values are communicated through fashion objects, and empower wearers of all visual abilities to feel elegant and desirable. At the heart of Sisson’s collection is the philosophy of performative function, where ostentatious displays foster dialogue around disability and design.