21-Year-Old Spanish Woman Becomes First Model With Down Syndrome to Walk in New York Fashion Week

A 21-year-old made history Sept. 8 by becoming the first Spanish model with Down syndrome to walk the New York Fashion Week.

Marián Ávila, who began her modeling career merely two years ago, made her debut in designer Talisha White’s spring collection in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.

“She’s been a busy supermodel, meeting with all types of people,” White said of Avila, Fox News reported. “I’m very glad for her. She’s been meeting with Vogue. She’s been meeting with Harper’s Bazaar. She’s been meeting in different showrooms, different modeling agencies.”

White added: “I wanted to show not just one type of girl is beautiful. I like to showcase all types of girls, from pageant girls to models in wheelchairs, models with Down syndrome, models who are 4 feet and told they can never be a model. They are my ‘it’ girl.”

Here are a few facts about Ávila:

According to Ávila’s website, she “attended modeling courses in Madrid between November 2015 and August 2016. She loves to learn, to work hard, practices daily the runway on her own and attends many other activities.”

She walked the runway for the first time with the designer Lina Lavin for the benefit of fibromyalgia in Hotel Ritz Madrid in March 2016.

Around the same time, her profile was uploaded on social media and she was hailed as the first Spanish model with Down syndrome. Spanish news outlet El Espanol interviewed her a month later, which was published in a piece called “The girl with down syndrome who wants to succeed as a model.”

Since then, she went on to attend fashion shows in Spain such as the Sevilla Fashion Week in Sala Fortuny, Vintage in Bodevil Theater, Xishang-Intercontinental, Spanish Runway, Fashion & Design Madrid University, Madrid Young Designers in Cibeles Palace, McDonalds Runway, Pepe Ferández Sevillania Flamenco Dress designer.

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SOURCE: International Business Times, Pritha Paul