KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 — A Puerto Rican woman made history by becoming the first model with Down’s syndrome to model for Victoria’s Secret.
Taking to her Instagram, Sofia Jirau, 25, said she is taking part in the American lingerie brand’s new Love Cloud campaign — advertising the collection of everyday underwear.
Jirau’s career has been gathering steam since she made her catwalk debut at New York Fashion Week in February 2020, attracting the attention of the fashion industry throughout the pandemic, Mirror reported.
Celebrating her campaign, Jirau said: “One day I dreamed of it, I worked on it and today it is a dream come true. I can finally tell you my big secret… I am the first Victoria’s Secret model with Down’s syndrome.”
Sharing a black and white picture of her modelling the brand’s bra, she continued: “Thanks to all of you for always supporting me in my projects. Thanks to @victoriassecret for seeing me as a #NoLimits model and making me part of the Love Cloud Collection inclusion campaign.
This is just the beginning, now it’s formed.”
“Inside and out there are no limits, Alavett,” she said, quoting her own brand, which is named after the English phrase ‘I love it’.
Apart from modelling, Jirau is an activist with her No Limits campaign, called Sin Límites, which aims to raise awareness about Down’s syndrome.
Victoria’s Secret launched a string of initiatives over the past few years to try and regain credibility in the face of declining sales and past accusations of a culture of misogyny at the business.
Recent moves by the company include its first mastectomy bra, racially diverse models promoting underwear in different skin tones, and hiring transgender beauty Valentina Sampaio after criticism for its lack of diversity.
Victoria’s Secret was previously branded a ‘transphobic, fat phobic company that sets out to exclude most women’, by TV star Jameela Jamil while shop closures and the cancelling of its high-profile catwalk showcase have added to the company’s woes in recent years.
