‘DREAM COME TRUE’: Sofia Jirau makes history as Victoria’s Secret first model with Down syndrome

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A model from Puerto Rica is officially the first person with Down syndrome to pose for Victoria’s Secret.

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Sofia Jirau, 24, announced this week that she joined the fashion brand, along with 17 other women, for its new underwear line, Love Cloud Collection.

The model and activist shared the news on Instagram with a black-and-white photo of herself in one of the collection’s bras and captioned it with a thank-you to the company for seeing her as a model “without limits.”

“One day I dreamed of it, I worked for it and today it is a dream come true,” Jirau wrote, according to a translation. “I can finally tell you my big secret… I am the first Victoria’s Secret model with Down syndrome!”

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She went on to thank the company for seeing her as a model with “#NoLimits,” adding that “this is just the beginning.

In fact, her posing for Victoria’s Secret wasn’t where she got her modeling start.

Jirau kicked off her career in her home country in 2019 before making her catwalk debut at New York Fashion Week for designer Marisa Santiago in February 2020.

And the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t stop her. In fact, her career has only blossomed over the last couple of years as companies are increasingly listening to criticism about lack of diversity in their ads.

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The Love Cloud Collection campaign features diverse models, from Jirau and transgender beauty Valentina Sampaio to women with disabilities, pregnant women, older women and plus-sized women — a more accurate representation than the standard the brand used to identify with.

As Jirau’s modeling career continues to soar, she also started her own line, Alavett — which is how she pronounces her favourite words, “I love it.”