After stunning photos of Madeline Stuart, an 18-year-old Australian model with Down Syndrome, were posted to Facebook in May, the model made international headlines and has received numerous modeling requests. Just two months later in July, Stuart landed a major modeling contract with the athletic wear brand Manifesta.
Now Stuart has signed with MODA in association with the Christopher Reeve Foundation to walk in New York Fashion Week, and also landed an advertising campaign as the face of a new line of handbags by EverMaya. Her budding modeling career will help to change the general perceptions about people with intellectual disabilities.
In an interview with Cosmopolitan.com, Madeline’s mom Roseanne explained how the world was ready for someone like Madeline to be in the spotlight. “The world was ready. The world wants to be inclusive, it just hasn’t had anyone on such a platform that they were able to do it easily. I remember when I was a child at school, people were homophobic and things like that, and now it’s cool to be gay! Imagine in 10 years what society will be like for people with disabilities. It’s not going to be how it is now, it’s going to be the norm,” she said.
“I would just like people to accept, love, and show kindness. The modeling is fun and everything, but it’s just a vehicle to get the message out. I think that’s why she’s done so well, is because this isn’t about us. It’s about fighting the fight for all the people out there that are a bit different that need to be loved.” Rosanne said, when asked what she wanted people to take away from her daughter’s work.
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[Featured image credit: Cosmopolitan.com]