Clothing brand River Island has released their most diverse campaign yet and 11-year-old Joseph Hale is the star.
Joseph has Down’s Syndrome and has recently been made the face of the brand’s ‘Kids Squad’.
“It’s really good. I had to pose, we had our hair and make-up done and I wore magic shiny shoes,” Joseph told BBC News.
‘The idea of the squad was to create a diverse group of children to portray “squad goals”, Joseph is great fun with an infectious laugh and star presence,’ says Josie Cartridge, customer director of River Island.
Joseph for River Island
“We hope by being more inclusive, this will help achieve wider acceptance for people with disabilities.”
The campaign shows children of different ages, ethnicities, genders and abilities and is a nod in the right direction for diversity in the media.
Joseph’s mum said of the campaign, “‘inclusion and diversity out there is absolutely amazing”. She said she was “immensely proud” of her son’s modeling debut.
However, there is still more to be done, she explains.
“Anybody with special needs and or a disability needs to be included in everything and anything – they can thrive and they just need to be given that chance to show they are just the same as everybody else.”
“I think people need to see the positives, it is not the be all and end all, they can go on to have really good enriched lives. He doesn’t pre-judge, he doesn’t see people as different – everybody is the same to him, everybody is his friend.”
This story was originally published on Closer Magazine.
