text: Style Meet the first model with Down syndrome to walk the runway at Fashion Week Feb. 11, 2015 at 4:48 PM ET 
   
   When Jamie Brewer strides down the catwalk during New York Fashion Week, she'll not only be showing off an original design by Carrie Hammer, but she will also become the first woman with Down syndrome to grace the runway. 
   
   “Young girls and even young women … [see me] and say ‘hey, if she can do it so can I,’” says Brewer, an actress known for her work on “American Horror Story” and an advocate for people with intellectual disabilities. “It’s a true inspiration being a role model for any young women to [encourage them] in being who they are and showing who they are.” 
   
   Courtesy of Michael Hansel 
   
   Brewer is modeling as part of Hammer’s “Role Models Not Runway Models,” a campaign the designer started when she was first asked to show her line at Fashion Week a year ago. Hammer wanted to represent the women who bought her designs and realized that featuring her clients—leaders of multibillion dollar businesses, heads of global nonprofits, pioneers of cutting-edge research, and women who just rock—would do exactly that. For her first show, she invited her friend, Danielle Sheypuk, who uses a wheelchair, to be a model. 
   
   “I called up my existing clients who were all incredible women and one of them happened to be a doctor and a sex therapist who happened to be in wheelchair,” Hammer told TODAY.com. “It was never intended to be this incredible statement.” 
   
   But it was. Hundreds of women and girls contacted Hammer to thank her. One email stuck out: Every time Hammer read it, she cried. It was from Katie Driscoll, co-founder of Changing the Face of Beauty, a nonprofit that encourages media to include people with disabilities. She wrote: 
   
   “Thank you for being the change that is long overdue. I could literally cry every time I read an article talking about your decision to include a model who just happens to have a disability! YOU are what this world needed!” 
   
   Driscoll’s daughter Grace was born with Down syndrome. After sharing her story with Hammer, Driscoll asked a favor. 
   
   Courtesy of Cindy Brewer 
   
   “She asked if I would have a role model for Grace,” Hammer says. 
   
   “Role Models Not Runway Models” took off, and Hammer received hundreds of nominations for women to model in her shows—including one from Karen Crespo, who lost her limbs to bacterial meningitis and longed to walk the runway to boost her self esteem. She appeared in Hammer’s fall Fashion Week show. But the designer didn’t forget about Grace. She asked Driscoll to suggest a good role model, and the mom immediately named Brewer. 
   
   “I explained to her how important it is for my daughter to have role models like [Brewer] to see that [anything] is possible,” says Driscoll. 
   
   While most recognize Brewer for playing Addie in “American Horror Story: Murder House,” Nan in “American Horror Story: Coven,” and Marjorie in “American Horror Story: Freak Show,” she has long worked as an advocate for people with intellectual disabilities. At 19, she was elected to the State of Texas ARC Board; she also worked on the Executive Board for the State of Texas ARC and the Governmental Affairs Committee for the State of Texas, where she was the only member with a disability. 
   
   “Jamie is an activist for intellectual disabilities, she is a writer and artist and amazing actress,” says Hammer. 
   
   Hammer designed a dress that she hopes plays up Brewer’s fabulous qualities. 
   
   “‘American Horror Story’ is dark, scary, bewitching so we had to go with black and Jamie has a beautiful body with a teeny waist and curves and we went with an A-line,” she says. The dress is also special for another reason—Hammer hopes that First Lady Michelle Obama will wear it. 
   
   For her part, Brewer feels excited for her spin down the runway. 
   
   “It’s amazing, it’s really neat. Many women have many sides to their personality, this dress fits...mine,” she says. “I am honored to be in it.” ||||| Actress Jamie Brewer walks the runway during the 'Role Models Not Runway Models' Carrie Hammer show. (Photo: Brian Ach, Getty Images) 
   
   Actress Jamie Brewer, best known for her roles on American Horror Story, appeared Thursday on a catwalk during New York Fashion Week. 
   
   Brewer was the first model in the show with Down syndrome. 
   
   Brewer wore clothing by designer Carrie Hammer as part of Hammer's "Role Models Not Runway Models" show, a project that invites inspiring women to showcase Hammer's work. 
   
   "We feature incredible influential women on the runaway. CEOs, executives, activist, actresses, anyone who is the top of the field, top of their game," Hammer told USA TODAY Network. 
   
   "Jamie is an absolute star," Hammer said, adding that the actress is also an activist for people with intellectual disabilities. 
   
   All of the women in the show wore clothing designed especially for them. 
   
   Brewer played a witch on American Horror Story so Hammer put her in black with an A-line cut. "Jamie has this beautiful figure with a small waist. A-lines really compliment that," Hammer said about the design. 
   
   The show took place at Lightbox, a digital arts and events space in New York City. 
   
   Brewer tweeted images of herself getting ready Thursday morning: 
   
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target: – Visitors to New York Fashion Week will see a first today: a model with Down syndrome walking the runway, reports USA Today. Actress Jamie Brewer, best known for her work on American Horror Story, will do the honors, wearing an original by designer Carrie Hammer as part of Hammer's Role Models Not Runway Models show. “Young girls and even young women … [see me] and say, ‘Hey, if she can do it so can I,’” Brewer tells Today. Hammer explains that the idea came from Katie Driscoll, a woman whose daughter Grace has Down syndrome. “She asked if I would have a role model for Grace,” Hammer says. Brewer was an easy pick, given that she's not only an actress but an activist for others with disabilities. The actress tells Bustle she understands why it's taken this long for the milestone: “A lot of people have a certain image of what perfect is until they actually see or hear something that’s extremely different in the media."