Plus Size Inspiration: Modeling Dream Comes True For Teen With Down Syndrome, Thanks to Wet Seal
It all started with some photos posted on Facebook and one young girl’s dream of becoming a model has come true.
One day, Sue Brown posted pics of her 17-yr old daughter Karrie on Facebook and was told how fashionable her daughter looked. She was even asked where the clothing came from. Karrie’s clothing came from Wet Seal, who recently started selling plus sizes online. At the recommendation of some of the commenters, Sue created a Facebook page for Karrie in an effort to get the retailer’s attention. Karrie loves fashion and has always dreamed of being a model. However, Karrie isn’t like most models. She has down syndrome.
On Karrie’s Facebook page, Karrie Brown – Modeling For The Future, Sue posted photos daily of Karrie in her most fashionable outfits. She used the page as a campaign, not only to get Wet Seal to notice Karrie, but to also share awareness of people with special needs.
Sue told Today.com about Wet Seal:
“On their website, they say they believe in diversity and inclusion, and it was just a perfect fit.”
Karrie describes her style as “biker chick” and says that Wet Seal’s clothing helps her to “fit in while standing out”. In her photos, you can see how much Karrie loves being a fashionista in her own right. And it caught Wet Seal’s attention quickly.
According to ABC News, Wet Seal received a handful of requests via social media, telling them about Karrie and her dream to model for their company.
Wet Seal’s Yasmin Ezaby told ABC News:
“She immediately caught our attention. We then asked our fans to get Karrie’s Facebook page to 10k likes and we would give her the trip of a lifetime. She exceeded this goal in two days.”
Wet Seal then flew out Karrie and her mom to Los Angeles on an all-expenses paid trip where Karrie was featured in a new ad campaign. Wet Seal even went further and included a trip to Disneyland and a shopping spree at Wet Seal. When it came time for Karrie to be photographed, it turns out she is a natural in front of the camera.
Sue told Today.com about her daughter’s photo shoot experience:
“She was hilarious. They had her in the first outfit and she’s standing there with the white screen behind her and everybody’s looking at her, and I thought she was going to get upset because she didn’t know what to do, she’d never had a professional photo shoot before. All she said was, ‘Can I have some Justin Bieber music, please?’ So they played some Justin Bieber and she just took off.”
Karrie’s next goal? To dance on-air with Ellen Degeneres on her talk show. Sue’s work is also not over yet. Her goal now is to fight for equal work opportunities for other people with special needs by focusing on “Karried Away”, a non-profit foundation that will help her with that cause.
Sue told Today.com:
“I just want people to understand my daughter is very capable of doing other things. I’ve always encouraged both my kids to follow what it is they want to do. And if they need help, if they can’t succeed, then I try to see what I can do to help.”
We think Karrie is going to make that goal. Anything is possible if you believe in your dreams and pursue them. Thank you, Karrie and Sue for being an inspiration to us all. And kudos to Wet Seal for making Karrie’s dream come true.
To check out Karrie’s Facebook page, please click on the following link: https://www.facebook.com/karriebrownmodel
To check out Wet Seal’s plus size clothing collection online, please click on the following link: http://www.wetseal.com/catalog/category.jsp?categoryId=1510&ref=hpText
**Photo credit/Sources: Wet Seal, Karrie Brown – Modeling For The Future, ABC News, Today.com