NYFW Clothing Line Debut by Madeline Stuart, Model with Down Syndrome

A model with Down syndrome is advocating for inclusion, starting a business, and following her dream all in one go. Madeline Stuart, a 20-year-old model, and advocate for diversity on the runway, has launched her own fashion line.

Stuart’s collection is called 21 Reasons Why by Madeline Stuart. Her site says that the line, whose name references the extra chromosome that causes Down syndrome, is about inclusion, self-bettering, and not living under boundaries. The line hit the runway for New York Fashion Week Feb. 12, with Stuart herself among the models.

The line features simple, comfortable clothing, which according to the Madeline Stuart website, looks much like what Stuart wears every day. Pieces available are shorts, skirts, leggings, and tops. The casual collection includes black leggings with flame graphics up the calves, a tank with a depiction of Stuart on the runway, and a double-slit skirt with a rain pattern.

Stuart, a native Australian, began modeling on the runway in 2015, according to Reuters. Since then she has gained a global career; she will be in Paris after finishing in New York.

The model and designer’s mother, Roseanne Stuart, said that her daughter saw a fashion show and decided she wanted to become a model.

Then, Stuart’s website details, the now-model undertook a weight loss effort that became viral, something she’s accomplished several times since as her career developed.

At the time of writing, 631,114 people follow the Madeline Stuart page on Facebook.

Reuters reports that numbers from the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention have it that there are 6,000 U.S. children born with Down syndrome every year. Stuart has demonstrated that having the condition doesn’t mean an end to big dreams. National Down Syndrome Society president Sara Hart Weir said that Stuart’s achievements as a businesswoman make Stuart an inspiration and raise expectations for individuals with the same condition.

 

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