Kayla Kosmalski, 9-Year-Old Model with Down Syndrome, to Walk in Ellen Degeneres’s GapKids x ED Show
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- August 21, 2015
Gap has added a new face to its long roster of models — and she’s adorable. The clothing brand has tapped nine-year-old Kayla Kosmalski to walk in its GapKids x ED fashion show in Miami this Saturday.
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Kayla, who has Down Syndrome, will hit the catwalk to debut Ellen DeGeneres’s new children’s clothing line for GapKids this weekend. The nine-year-old will be joining 13 other “power girls” — four of whom have a disability — to show off DeGeneres’s new child-size duds in the show.
The stylish event is being put on with the help of Changing the Face of Beauty, a non-profit that advocates for equal representation of people with disabilities in advertising and the media.
“Kayla is just a great little girl,” Katie Driscoll, the founder of Changing the Face of Beauty, tells PEOPLE. “She enjoys the spotlight and the modeling scene, so it was a good fit.”
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Before being picked for the GapKida show, Kayla participated in beauty pageants and most recently joined a dance team.
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“We are extremely honored to be a part of this,” Driscoll says. “Gap speaks so loudly to young adults and young children, and its imagery is powerful.”
She adds: “This is a huge opportunity for us — back to school is an important time for us because the 13 percent of kids [with disabilities] going back aren’t represented by the media.”
The show, which is one of eight launch celebrations for the GapKids x ED collection, will be held at the Gap storefront on Lincoln Road in Miami from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. But the question on everyone’s mind is: Will Ellen be there?
“Wouldn’t that be great?” jokes Driscoll.
Have you checked out GapKids x ED’s collection? Share below!
–Sarah Kinonen
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