Aussie model Madeline Stuart takes New York by storm

Australian model Madeline Stuart’s skyrocketing career has reached all new heights, with the teen taking to the runway at New York Fashion Week for the second time. She's now being widely described as the world's first professional model who has Down Syndrome. 

Having strutted her stuff on the catwalk at the FTL Moda show at Angel Orsensaz Foundation in Manhattan, Madeline’s mum Rosanne Stuart says getting booked in New York two years in a row has established her 19-year-old daughter’s place as a professional model.

‘I think today is cementing her in the industry; she isn’t just a one-hit wonder who walked in New York Fashion week once,’ she told The Mighty. ‘She’s settled in the industry. She’s a model now.’

Just two years after she first told her mum she wanted to become a model, Madeline has racked up an impressive portfolio, gracing publications such as Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire and People.

‘In the beginning, people thought it was just a big advertising campaign, but now people can see that she has actually made it in the fashion world,’ says Rosanne.

And while Madeline now gets to experience the glamorous side of the fashion industry, she says she has bigger plans for her career than simply sporting designer clothing.

'I hope through modelling I can change society's view of people with disabilities, exposure to creating awareness, acceptance and inclusion,’ she writes on her blog.