Isabella fashion designer

Instead of giving up on her dreams of becoming a fashion designer, Isabella stuck to her dream and has become Guatemala’s most famous fashion designer.

When Isabella Springmuhl Tejada graduated from high school, she knew exactly what she wanted. As a junior designer, at the age of six she made clothes for her doll and was keen to study fashion. However, her dreams were shattered by the local university, which refused to accept her because she had Down syndrome.

With the support of her family, she began educating herself. Today, Isabella’s collections are not only praised in her home country, but on the international fashion scene as well.

In 2015, Isabella was invited to exhibit her work at the Museum of Indigenous Textiles and Clothing in Guatemala City, which explores Guatemalan clothing traditions across the country. The following year when she was just 19 years old, she was the first fashion designer with Down Syndrome to appear at London Fashion Week. She took part in the International Fashion Show, and was also among the list of inspirational and influential people named by the BBC. Isabella was also invited to exhibit her collections in Rome.
A true inspiration, Isabella now owns an online store and continues to promote her point of view on fashion and her holistic message to a growing audience.