By recovering clothes discarded in the West, Togolese designer Amah Ayiv gives them new life through his high fashion creations.
Design & Fashion
Down to Xjabelle, the fashion collection by a young designer with Down syndrome
Rompere le regole del mondo della moda è quello che sta facendo la stilista down Isabella Springmühl con Down to Xjabelle, la sua linea di abiti ispirata al Guatemala.
Listening to your heart and pursuing your passion is a valuable lesson that Isabella Springmühl, a young woman with Down syndrome, has taught the world by becoming a fashion designer and by creating her brand Down to Xjabelle, inspired by her country of origin, Guatemala.
How Down to Xjabelle was created
Isabella developed a passion for fashion when she was a little girl: she used to spend hours drawing clothes for her dolls and leafing through fashion magazines. When she was seventeen her biggest dream was to turn her love for clothes and fabrics into a job. However, due to her syndrome, she was denied access to fashion design schools.
Thanks to her determination to follow her dreams and her family’s support, the designer attended a private school to learn the tricks of the trade and be able to devote herself to creating her clothing and accessories brand Down to Xjabelle.
A tribute to Guatemala
Down to Xjabelle provides young women with Down syndrome fashionable clothes that suit their physical characteristics. In addition, Isabella designs bags, jackets and clothing items beautifully tailored by indigenous women that have been handweaving colourful Guatemalan textiles for years.
Isabella is paying tribute to her country and running her project with determination and courage, uprooting the world of fashion with her clothes and sending an important message: “”I want people to see me for who I am and I want to be a model for all young people with Down syndrome. I want to tell them that, even if initially it may not seem easy, they must never give up”.
Featured image: Isabella Springmühl wearing items from her collection © Down to Xjabelle
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