Model With Down Syndrome Challenges Beauty Norms in New Bridal Campaign

http://www.takepart.com/article/2016/03/11/madeline-stuart-bridal?cmpid=tpdaily-eml-2016-03-11-B


Madeline Stuart is on a mission to challenge beauty standards and promote inclusion for people with disabilities.


Madeline Stuart, an Australian model with Down syndrome, models a Hendrik Vermeulen dress in the FTL Moda presentation of the spring/summer 2016 collection during New York Fashion Week on Sept. 13, 2015. (Photo: Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

MAR 11, 2016 Samantha Cowan is an associate editor for culture.

At first glance, a picture of a young woman dressed in a full white ball gown with a dramatic veil blowing in the wind against a scenic field looks much like any other photo used to advertise a wedding venue. But model Madeline Stuart, a teen with Down syndrome, hopes the pictures she posed for prove that all women are worthy and capable of falling in love.

Stuart modeled three different dresses—accompanied by three different grooms—in a recent shoot for Virginia wedding venue Rixey Manor.

“A lot of newly engaged women cannot see themselves as a bride because all the images magazines use are of these tall, thin models,” Rixey Manor owner Isadora Martin-Dye told the Independent of her decision to hire Stuart. “I think that being a bride is a life experience that every woman should be able to see herself doing.”

The Australian teen has made a name for herself walking in New York Fashion Week, modeling for fitness brand Manifesta, and as the face of a handbag line for EverMaya.

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