A lot of young women dream of becoming models, including one Katie Harris who was over the moon when she had scheduled her first debut on a catwalk in Sydney.
The 24-year-old Harris has Down syndrome and explains she wanted to show to the world her pure beauty.
Everyone from the models to the audience and designers were in love with her. As soon as she had her first solo walk, the crowd began to cheer for her and was calling out her name.
She definitely owned it. Krysta Health is a winner of the 2018 Miss Planet Australia and she was Katie’s coach for this catwalk.
Diversity Has a Place Everywhere, Including the Fashion World
After the success of Australian model Madeline Stuart who’s also with this condition and others like Chelsea Werner, an American gymnast, young women like Katie have role models in the public world.
Rosanne, Madeline’s mother and her manager, notes that diversity is here and that it’s not a two-second wonder, eventually, we won’t even notice it’s diversity.
However, she emphasizes that there’s still a lot of rejection. The 22-year-old Madeline participated in 120 runway shows; has an international CV, and more than million Facebook followers; however, no mainstream Australian agency for modelling has signed with her.
Her mother also goes on to explain that there’s still a major difference between the pay of those with a disability and those without.
But, she’s confident that this sector is opening up as new generations become part of it. Madeline is currently modelling in Malta. Her mother believes that the difference from last year is amazing.
How Did Katie’s Dream Become Reality?
When two Bega Valley teenagers organized a fashion show with models with disabilities, it was the beginning to Katie’s dream coming true.
Katie announced to her mother about her modelling desires and soon enough, the Disability Trust NSW joined.
One of the girls who came up with the idea for the fashion show says this was the best feeling ever, especially watching the 19 girls smashing the catwalk. She thinks this is an awesome way to show how we’re all the same, regardless of our physical look.
Being the real you, she believes, is what makes us beautiful.
Katie thinks she’s beautiful from the inside and the outside and she wants to achieve her modelling goals and won’t allow anything to stand in her way.
She wants to be a model so that people can meet the real her.