A South Surrey teen who walked the runway during Paris Fashion Week had all the right moves during her brief few seconds of fame, giving the red JJChlo茅_official gown and feathered @chrisanthicouture_ headpiece she was decked out in some well-deserved flair on the international stage.
But ask the 15-year-old today B次元官网网址 just weeks after her return B次元官网网址 if sheB次元官网网址檚 still riding high from the experience, and her response may come as a surprise.
B次元官网网址淧eople ask her about it, she covers her faceB次元官网网址 B次元官网网址(says) B次元官网网址榠tB次元官网网址檚 kind of embarrassing,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址 Annika Van VlietB次元官网网址檚 mom, Lisa, chuckled Thursday (Oct. 26).
For Lisa, the reaction is nothing new. ItB次元官网网址檚 how her daughter has always rolled when it comes to the modelling career the teen stepped into about a year ago.
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Represented by B次元官网网址 an Edmonton-based B次元官网网址渄isability-focused talent and media companyB次元官网网址 B次元官网网址 Annika has given television interviews, posed for numerous photo shoots and walked fashion-week runways in both Vancouver and Toronto since being discovered during a Glam-Z gala in June 2022.
In September, she was larger than life in the Big Apple, when an image of her was part of a jumbotron video presentation in New YorkB次元官网网址檚 Times Square to launch the 2023 Buddy Walk, an annual event to raise awareness for Down syndrome in the U.S.
Shy in her day-to-day life, itB次元官网网址檚 clear Annika transforms in front of the camera (@annika.jillian), leaving all her inhibitions behind-the-scenes to revel in the limelight. Once a shoot wraps up, however, the experience is B次元官网网址渙ut of sight out of mind.B次元官网网址
B次元官网网址淭he minute sheB次元官网网址檚 done, itB次元官网网址檚 over,B次元官网网址 said Lisa. B次元官网网址淧eople are blown away by the difference.B次元官网网址
In Paris, Annika walked for La Belle magazine. She trained for months to master the precise moves that would be expected of her overseas, then hopped a plane with her mom for the Sept. 25-Oct. 2 affair.
The pair took in a few of FranceB次元官网网址檚 well-known sites ahead of her Oct. 1 debut, including the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre.
Her time on the runway in the Le Bristol Paris hotel lasted all of 22 seconds, and true to form, AnnikaB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渁lter egoB次元官网网址 took over for the duration.
Lisa described the experience as one of B次元官网网址渢rue inclusion,B次元官网网址 one where AnnikaB次元官网网址檚 Down syndrome did not define her.
B次元官网网址淪he was just one of the models B次元官网网址 just blended in, did her own thing. And thatB次元官网网址檚 what we like to see,B次元官网网址 her mom said.
B次元官网网址淭he minute she stands out, sheB次元官网网址檚 not included.B次元官网网址