Trailblazing Model With Down Syndrome Becomes Face Of Makeup Brand Campaign

Nov 08, 2022 by apost team

The fashion and beauty industry is notoriously vicious. The competition is steep in the highly profitable and saturated industry. Multi-million-dollar brands battle it out every season to market their products, organizing top-notch campaigns and hiring the best talent out there. In its wake, the industry – inadvertently or not – creates beauty standards that are not only impossibly out of reach for normal folk but can be incredibly toxic, harmful and prejudiced.

Enter Kate Grant from Northern Ireland. In 2019 at the tender age of 20, Grant became the first person with Down syndrome to represent the cosmetics giant Benefit. But this wasn’t Grant’s first beauty rodeo. The model was named winner of the Teen Ultimate Beauty of the World Pageant in 2018. Grant has also strutted down the runway at the famous Belfast Fashion Week, becoming the first model with Down syndrome to do so in 2017, according to BBC.

Grant first expressed her interest in pursuing modeling when she was featured on the BBC1 program “Role Models.” Since then, she has gone on to achieve bigger and better things, including modeling for the Benefit Roller Liner Eyeliner campaign. Benefit told Today it first took note of Grant in a video about her modeling journey and “instantly fell in love.”

“Her amazing energy was so infectious and we were captivated by her incredible zest for life and determination,” the company said in a statement, adding, “She embodied everything we stand for as a brand so we knew we had to find a way to work with her.”

Benefit added it hoped the campaign would aid in highlighting “that beauty and makeup shots can absolutely feature people from all walks of life.”

Grant's 2019 campaign for Benefit featured the company's matte liquid liner, and the campaign was a hit, garnering applause from people all over the globe. Later that same year, Grant broke new ground again by becoming the first woman with Down syndrome to be recognized in the Queen's Birthday Honours list. Grant's mother, Deirdre Grant, told BBC she and her husband were “just busting with pride.”

“Whether you have Down syndrome or not, if you have a belief and if you work hard, have determination and have a dream, things are achievable in life. So that's just Kate's motto – she worked hard, she was very determined, she believed in herself, she knew where she wanted to go,” Deirdre said, adding that “And with that, she knew that she was representing the population with special needs and disabilities, and that drove her forward and made her stronger.”

Grant said she was eager to continue raising “awareness of people with special needs” through modeling. In 2021, Grant became the first model with Down syndrome to be signed in Northern Ireland. 

Grant was ecstatic, telling Belfast Live, “Oh my god, I was over the moon. I couldn’t believe it, this is my passion. I’m just overwhelmed. It doesn’t feel real. My life is changing here.”

She again reiterated she wanted to continue shining a spotlight on marginalized communities.

“I use my platform to raise awareness for inclusion of people with disability or ability. I use my voice for people who can’t have a voice,” she told the outlet.

Now, Grant is embracing life on the go and constantly updates her more than 44,000 followers on Instagram with fashion and beauty posts. In her bio reads one short but succinct phrase Grant embodies: “Different is beautiful.”

apost.com

How inspiring is Kate Grant’s story? Do you think the fashion industry is becoming more inclusive? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to friends, family and fashionistas!