A little girl has become a MODEL for a top fashion label - despite the fact she cannot WALK or TALK.
Seven-year-old Holly Greenhow has athetoid cerebral palsy and is in a wheelchair but she has not let her disabilities hold her back and features in the latest modelling shoot for Boden.
Holly, whose condition was caused by a prolonged loss of oxygen at birth, was chosen after attending a casting earlier this year, where she shone in front of the camera.
She spent a day in London modelling clothes from the Boden children's range and now features in the Meet and Greet mini campaign on their website.
"Holly has a beautiful smile and modelling is not all about being perfect, so we thought why shouldn't she be considered," said mum Fiona, 42, from Hemingford Grey in Cambridgeshire. "There are lots of things she can't do and will never be able to do because of her disabilities, so it was really nice for her to have this experience. I hope it will help the image of disabled children and also open people's eyes to the fact there are lots of children out there who aren't perfect."
Holly, who has an older brother Oliver who is 10, was born with athetoid cerebral palsy, which affects her movement, balance and speech. She uses a wheelchair to get around and has only recently started to communicate using a special computer system operated by her eyes - in a similar way to renowned physicist Professor Steven Hawking who suffers motor neurone disease.
But she has always enjoyed choosing her own clothes, so mum Fiona thought she might like to try modelling.
"My mum suggested it as Holly loves pretty clothes and particularly likes wearing those designed by Boden," said Fiona, a trade manager for Tesco. "Holly has so many things against her and as her mother I just wanted her to be able to do something that any child could or would love to do, given the chance. She went for a casting in May and did the shoot in the summer holidays with lots of other children at a studio in London. Holly really enjoyed it and loved being the centre of attention and we're really pleased with the finished results."
Fiona, whose husband Paul, 45, is head of sales for a food manufacturer, hopes that Holly may now have the chance to do some more modelling work.
Zena Botha, who is the studio shoot and model manager for Boden, said they "Were delighted that Holly made the cut." She added: "We are always happy to invite our Mini Boden fans along to model castings and we were delighted that Holly made the cut. Holly was charming and we're very pleased with the shoot, which is live now on www.boden.co.uk."
Matt Jackson, head of campaigns at the disability charity Scope said: "There has certainly been a lack of diversity in kids modelling campaigns to date, which means that disabled children are often not represented. The fact that Holly has cerebral palsy and will feature in Boden's advertising will certainly help to challenge some of the misunderstandings and prejudice that can make life difficult for so many disabled children."
