Teen Is First Gucci And Italian Vogue Model With Down Syndrome

Jul 07, 2020 by apost team

Ellie Goldstein, an 18-year-old model with Down syndrome, stars in Gucci's latest campaign for Vogue Italia, making her the first model with Down syndrome to star in a Gucci Beauty campaign. The photo, which was posted on June 19, is currently the most 'liked' photo on Gucci's Instagram page.

An 18-year-old with Down syndrome is one of the latest models to star in a Gucci Beauty campaign—and she's breaking social media records for the brand. The solo photo of Goldstein posted to Gucci's Instagram page is currently their most 'liked' photo with more than 820,000 likes as of this writing. It also makes Ellie the first model with Down syndrome to star in a Gucci Beauty campaign.

Photographed by London-based artist David PD Hyde, the campaign has been featured online by Vogue Italia, where Goldstein is seen wearing the Gucci Mascara L'Obscur. "I designed L'Obscur mascara for an authentic person who uses makeup to tell their story of freedom, in their way," Alessandro Michele, creative director of Gucci, said. "We called it L'Obscur because this word balances charm and mystery," he added.

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Goldstein, who started modeling at 15-years-old, says that she feels "really proud" of herself. "I've got lots of comments on Instagram and I was really shocked at that," she said in an interview with ITV News. Mom Yvonne Goldstein describes her daughter as strong-minded and ambitious—"She's just born with an extra chromosome," she told ITV.

Goldstein is represented by Zebedee Management, a specialist talent agency established in 2017.

The initial idea for the agency was formed when founders Zoe Proctor and Laura Johnson were taking their dogs for a walk together one day. "It was at that point we decided we wanted to do something about this, and that we would launch our own model and acting agency, Zebedee, solely representing people with disabilities and alternative appearances, and the rest, they say, is history," wrote Johnson in an Instagram post.

She added:

"This week, both of our ambitions have been realised, with wonderful Lennie featuring on Pura, and beautiful Ellie for Gucci. We are over the moon!"

Congratulations, Ellie! Do you think the fashion industry can do more for diversity? Let us know your thoughts in the comments and be sure to get the opinions of your loved ones as well.