At 19, Isabella Springmuhl was invited to be a part of London’s Fashion Week. She’s the first fashion designer with Down Syndrome to attend the event. Her years of hard work and perseverance paid off. But the road to success was paved with difficulties. Isabella Springmuhl was rejected from two fashion universities in Guatemala. The universities claimed that she wouldn’t be able to handle the rigorous work because of her condition. Springmuhl saw it as a challenge, and the rejection prompted her to work even harder to achieve her goal.
Isabella’s mother enrolled her in a sewing academy, and the girl with the big dream quickly went from designing outfits for Guatemalan dolls to making clothing for people. She drew on Guatemalan culture for inspiration, using colorful fabrics and Mayan textiles in her designs.
After taking part in London’s Fashion Week, Isabella Sprigmuhl’s career took off. In 2016, she was named on BBC’s list of 100 inspirational women. She received invites to fashion shows in Miami and Rome. But Isabella had bigger dreams. She wanted to create clothing for people with Down Syndrome. Fashion is Isabella’s way of celebrating who she is and defying a society that tried to put limitations on her. Springmuhl created Down to Xjabelle, a fashion line that celebrates the different body constitutions of people with Down Syndrome. It also pays homage to her designer grandmother’s fashion line, Xjabelle. Isabella is proof that good things happen when you follow your dreams.
