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Somerset House, London, UK. 18th February, 2016. Guatemala has been invited for the first time to the "International Fashion Showcase 2016" exhibition as part of "London Fashion Week", held from 19th to 23rd February in the west wing of " Somerset House". The Central American country's delegation to the show comes with another first in the talented 19 year old Isabella (Belita) Springmühl Tejada, the first Down Syndrome designer to make an appearance in the show's history. Her artistic skills became noticeable at an early age when she started working on the design of clothes and bags for women, in which designs predominates using traditional Guatemalan fabrics and blouses. For the London Fashion Show Isabella designed rag dolls, the size of a typical 5 year old girl, uses different colours, textures and elements, including the use of hides and skins, with the support of a seamstress for those elements, but personally oversees all designs. Her passion has led her to interact with a group of weavers who worked Tecpan and leather for bags and every day has new designs reflected in these creations. A family background in clothing design dating back to the eighties also played an important role in Isabella's decision to make her own designs. Her grandmother owned a fashion workshop in Guatemala called Xjabelle for which she made nine designs, all of which were sold. After this success Isabella decided that her clothing line should be named Xjabelle Down - Down because it has Down syndrome and Xjabelle the name of the atelier of her grandmother. She explains, "I always loved clothes and fashion, but sometimes it's hard to get clothes for me because we have certain physical characteristics, such as short stature, trunk or torso shorter, wider neck and short limbs. In particular I like vibrant colours and reflection in my designs." Pictured: Isabella (Belita) Springmühl Tejada together with her mother. // Lee Thomas, Flat 47a Park East Building, Bow Quarter, London, E3 2U
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Somerset House, London, UK. 18th February, 2016. Guatemala has been invited for the first time to the "International Fashion Showcase 2016" exhibition as part of "London Fashion Week", held from 19th to 23rd February in the west wing of " Somerset House". The Central American country's delegation to the show comes with another first in the talented 19 year old Isabella (Belita) Springmühl Tejada, the first Down Syndrome designer to make an appearance in the show's history. Her artistic skills became noticeable at an early age when she started working on the design of clothes and bags for women, in which designs predominates using traditional Guatemalan fabrics and blouses. For the London Fashion Show Isabella designed rag dolls, the size of a typical 5 year old girl, uses different colours, textures and elements, including the use of hides and skins, with the support of a seamstress for those elements, but personally oversees all designs. Her passion has led her to interact with a group of weavers who worked Tecpan and leather for bags and every day has new designs reflected in these creations. A family background in clothing design dating back to the eighties also played an important role in Isabella's decision to make her own designs. Her grandmother owned a fashion workshop in Guatemala called Xjabelle for which she made nine designs, all of which were sold. After this success Isabella decided that her clothing line should be named Xjabelle Down - Down because it has Down syndrome and Xjabelle the name of the atelier of her grandmother. She explains, "I always loved clothes and fashion, but sometimes it's hard to get clothes for me because we have certain physical characteristics, such as short stature, trunk or torso shorter, wider neck and short limbs. In particular I like vibrant colours and reflection in my designs." Pictured: Isabella (Belita) Springmühl Tejada together with her mother. // Lee Thomas, Flat 47a Park East Building, Bow Quarter, London, E3 2U