Disabled Fashionista Jillian Mercado’s New Gig


Born to a mother who loved fashion and was an accomplished seamstress, Jillian Mercado, 26, the voice behind the fashion blog Manufactured 1987, almost had no choice but to love fashion. And it’s a good thing she does, since her disability, muscular dystrophy, makes her one of the most interesting fashion bloggers alive.

Jillian is so dynamic that she caught the eye of the people behind the latest Diesel ad campaign, who were looking for the movers and shakers in the current “youth culture” for their latest campaign. As a fashion blogger residing in New York City and raised in the Upper West Side, making it work when it’s not the most accessible city in the world, she’s impressed people in the industry and is known for her fierceness.

In the ad for Diesel, Jillian, posing alongside visual artist James Astronaut, makes using a wheelchair look stylish. And I love that they didn’t hide the wheelchair. They wanted to show it off, as that was the whole purpose of the ad campaign — demonstrating a different side to models. With her bleached blond hair, drool-worthy lipstick color and a look that can stop a man dead in his tracks, I think they’ve succeeded.

I blogged about the amazing Jillian Mercado several months ago before she landed this ad, being in awe of her fashion internship with Allure, her blog and style (gosh she gives good face). I’m just glad the world is finally seeing what I did — a woman with a disability breaking the mold and doing something no other woman with a disability has managed to do yet.

The ad featuring Jillian will be blasted everywhere. It will be in the March issue of several fashion magazines such as Vogue and Interview, and it will be in every Diesel store around the world (it’s also on the company’s main page). In the meantime, as her star rises, Jillian is busy working as editorial director for WeTheUrban.com, a site that celebrates the best fashion and music finds each week from Tumblr.

Jillian’s success gives me hope the fashion industry may finally be turning a new leaf.

— Read more: Fashion Blogger Jillian Mercado Stars In Edgy Diesel Ads, Wheelchair And All, Huffington Post

— Check out Jillian’s blog: Manufactured1987

Which brands would you like to see feature models with disabilities in their ads?Enhanced by Zemanta


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