Less than two years after making her runway debut, Madeline Stuart, a model with Down syndrome, launched her own fashion label on Sunday at New York Fashion Week with a collection of sporty leggings, crop tops and skirts.
The Australian-born model challenged fashion industry norms with her first catwalk appearance in 2015 and is credited with changing perceptions about people with Down syndrome. She hopes to do the same with her new label, 21 Reasons Why by Madeline Stuart.
Wearing blue patterned leggings, Stuart kicked off the packed show that featured casual looks designed for comfort and ease. She paired short flared skirts with long and shirt-sleeve crop tops and T-shirts that could be mixed and matched with dark and patterned leggings.
“It really does represent who she is,” Roseanne Stuart, Madeline’s mother, manager and design collaborator, said about the collection that will be sold exclusively online.
