Little women stand tall at Dubai fashion show

A model walks down the catwalk during the International Dwarf Fashion Show in Dubai on May 20, 2017. - AFP photo

Like all working mums, Colleen Theriault has her hands full with her four-year-old son and a full-time career as head baker at a patisserie in North Carolina, US. But the 24-year-old is also an advocate for a budding movement that is breaking into the international fashion scene. Its models, like their initiative, are small but strong.
The International Dwarf Fashion Show, a non-profit organisation that aims to "reverse the discriminatory diktats of beauty", brought seven women with dwarfism to Dubai this week for a show dedicated to raising awareness about the need for more inclusivity. "This is the farthest I've travelled, especially by myself," Theriault told AFP, after modelling two dresses at the show late Saturday. "This trip was a big step."
In shimmering bodycon dresses and embellished saris, models from the US, the Philippines, Italy, Bulgaria and Russia strutted down an impromptu garden runway ?under heart-shaped arches of flowers. The show closed with a charismatic model in a bridal dress, her holographic Mary Jane shoes peeking out from under a rose-?dotted train.
The International Dwarf Fashion Show has attracted worldwide attention since it launched in 2014, taking to the runway during New York Fashion Week, as well as in Tokyo and Paris, supported by France's culture ministry.
But in Dubai, the show almost did not happen after an eleventh-hour cancellation, organisers said. Chalek said there was "chaos, drama, disappointment and anger" when the hotel they had booked cancelled on them last minute.
A second hotel also refused to host the show.
Contacted by AFP, the manager at one hotel said he was not aware of any fashion show. The head of communications at the second hotel was not reachable for comment.
While Theriault was anxious to fly back home to her son, she said she was not giving up on working for more inclusivity in the world of fashion and beyond.
"We just want to show them that we're people just like they are," she said.
"Everybody has a disability, no matter if you can see it on the outside or on the inside," the model added. "Everybody just needs to be accepted." - AFP