Puerto Rican model Sofía Jirau becomes first women with Down Syndrome to pose for Victoria's Secret

Lingerie retailer Victoria’s Secret & Co. often faces backlash for their exclusionary casting choices. They have now decided to move further away from it in a new advertising campaign which for the first time features a model with Down syndrome

Sofía Jirau, 25, who has Down syndrome, is part of the brand’s new Love Cloud campaign.

The collection, announced on Valentine’s Day, is being called a first-of-its-kind campaign by Victoria’s Secret and features a diverse group of 18 models.

The Puerto Rican model started her modeling career in the year 2019 at the age of twenty-three. Sofia has collaborated with many big-shot brands, and now she is working with Victoria’s Secret, which has been her childhood dream. She announced the good news on her social media.

Sharing a photograph of the model on Instagram, the retail company wrote, “By age 25, Puerto Rican model, Sofia Jirau, has already conquered her ultimate dream: to model on the most important runways in the world. In 2019, Sofia launched the online store, Alavett, selling clothing, accessories, and home products. What did it mean to her to be featured in The Love Cloud Campaign? “It is a dream come true. I am happy to be able to show everyone that Sofia Jirau is going to shine around the world. I feel confident because fear is not in my vocabulary.” #WearTheCloud”.

In the picture, Sofia flaunted a natural look and was dressed in a bra from the brand’s latest collection. She also sported a personalised necklace featuring her name.

Along with Jirau, others in the group include a woman who is pregnant, a firefighter and Miriam Blanco, a model who was originally diagnosed with cerebral palsy before being re-diagnosed with a rare neurodegenerative disease called hereditary spastic paraplegia type 3a.