Actress Jamie Brewer became the first first woman with Down syndrome to walk the runway at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York yesterday, during Carrie Hammer's "Role Models Not Runway Models" show. Hammer began the campaign last year in order to choose models who represent the people who actually buy her designs, women like non-profit workers, researchers and anyone else that may inspire her.
"Young girls and even young women … [see me] and say, 'Hey, if she can do it so can I,'" said Brewer, who appears on American Horror Story and is an advocate for people with intellectual disabilities. "It’s a true inspiration being a role model for any young woman to [encourage them] in being who they are and showing who they are."
Hammer designed an A-line dress for Brewer to model, highlighting her small waist. She hopes the campaign will catch Michelle Obama's attention.
"American Horror Story is dark, scary, bewitching so we had to go with black and Jamie has a beautiful body with a teeny waist and curves and we went with an A-line," she said.
"It’s amazing, it’s really new," Brewer added. "Many women have many sides to their personality, this dress fits… mine. I am honored to be in it."
