Because of a birth defect, doctors had to amputate the legs of Daisy-May Demetre.
But that didn’t stop the nine-year-old from becoming the first double amputee model to debut at Paris Fashion Week at the Eiffel Tower where she modeled for children’s wear label Lulu et Gigi.
Daisy-May, from Birmingham, Britain, had fibular hemimelia when she was born. It’s a condition where the calf bone is lacking or shortened and necessitated having Daisy-May’s legs amputated at 18 months old. She just started modeling last year for UK clothing brands and already graced London Kids’ Fashion Week in February.
Watch this girl’s debut at Paris Fashion Week below.
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Video credit: Rumble
Earlier this month, she was at the New York Fashion Week.
Posting a picture of herself and her dad in front of the Eiffel Tower, Daisy-May wrote on Instagram, “Here to make history, that’s what we do.”
When she’s on the catwalk or running, Daisy-May uses carbon blades. It helps her mobility so much that she was even able to do a cartwheel at the London show. But she uses a different set of prosthetic for school.
Speaking to Reuters Television, she said she loves dressing up in pretty clothes and posing for the camera.
“I get my hair done, then I get my make-up done and then I put my dress on, and my legs, and I get on the catwalk. Sometimes I do not even feel different,” she said.
Daisy-May’s dad Alex Demetre said his daughter’s condition hit him hard at first. He fell to drinking and gambling and even entertained suicidal thoughts as he worried how her handicap was going to influence her life.
He broached the idea of modeling to her after he saw a TV show about fashion. She hasn’t looked back since and has modeled for several major UK clothing retailers and even for Nike, Inc.
“When she was born, we thought it was going to be the end of the world. How people were going to look at her and perceive her, like boyfriends, and husbands. Now I see that she was a gift. Her disability is an actual gift and she wears that gift with pride. It does not hold her back in any way,” he said.
Eni Hegedus-Buiron, Lulu et Gigi founder, said she had no doubts about hiring an amputee to be the face of her luxury children’s clothing. Her clothing line is so premium that a “Princess and the Pea Gown” costs $2,600.
“We bring her among the other girls. We have a curvy teen model. We have models with Down syndrome. Inclusion is for all different children,” she said.
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