English Ellie Goldstein has become the first model with Down’s syndrome to strike a pose for Gucci Beauty. The 18-year-old took part in a campaign for the luxury brand's “Mascara L'Obscur,” with the pictures featuring in “Vogue Italia.” This was in collaboration with the Photo Vogue Festival, a festival due to take place for the fifth consecutive year this November.
Goldstein, who is studying performing arts at a college in Essex, where she lives, stars with a couple of other models in the campaign that was shot by David PD Hyde. The photographer has said his aim was to "push the boundary of beauty by having different types of beautiful faces and bring them together as one unity" in an effort to highlight "beauty is everywhere and exists in every person."
The models were selected by Hyde and artist Catherine Sevel from over 6,000 photos posted on Instagram from around the world as part of “Vogue Italia” and Gucci Beauty’s #theguccibeautyglitch" scouting project. The assignment started back in January 2020, inspired by the theme "Unconventional Beauty." The project continues to support Gucci Beauty’s objectives of "supporting emerging talents and promoting the theme of unconventional and non-stereotypical beauty," according to a release for the campaign.
The cosmetic product is designed specifically for "an authentic person who uses make-up to tell their story of freedom, in their way," explained Alessandro Michele, Creative Director of Gucci. "We called it L’Obscur because this word balances charm and mystery," he added.
Goldstein, who has already modelled for other mega labels like Nike and Vodafone, is represented by specialist talent agency Zebedee Management. And the agency, which works with diverse models with disabilities and offers “sensitive representation,” shared her portrait on Instagram, saying it is the most popular post ever on Gucci. The photo was posted on Gucci Beauty, as well as Gucci’s Instagram feed, where it has garnered over 820,000 likes. "I love this. Thank you for this amazing opportunity and a fabulous day shooting," Goldstein penned in the comment section.
Goldstein, who has been with her agency since 2017, got into modelling when a friend learned about Zebedee Management on the “This Morning” show and encouraged mum Yvonne to get Goldstein to try it out. Extremely happy with the new photo shoot, Goldstein, has said she would “love to be famous” and is looking forward to working with other brands. While posting a picture on her own Instagram page, she simply captioned it with, “Proud of being me.”
