Why This Model’s NYFW Runway Walk Was So Inspiring

Here's a true fashion first: This past Sunday, a 25-year-old personal trainer-cum-model became the first man without a leg to walk at New York Fashion Week.  Born with proximal femoral focal deficiency, Jack Eyers had his leg removed at age 16, a process he once described as freeing "this devil attached to me."  Walking the FTL Moda show, Eyers strutted down in two high-fashion looks by designer Antonio Urzi: One was a black, fur gilet thrown over a dandyish vest and trousers; the other was an unabashed display of the model's physique, with silver paint decorating his bare chest. Eyers was joined on the catwalk by other models with disabilities, all part of Models Of Diversity, including a wheelchair-bound woman who donned the most devastating Rick Owens-esque chain-mail dress. Mama wants.  This NYFW was particularly celebratory of a wide range of beautiful people — even Kanye West’s adidas show included diverse body types, and Winnie Harlow became a welcome face in many runway lineups. “It all feels so surreal; I can’t believe this is actually happening,” Eyers, who is from Bournemouth, U.K., told Caters News, of his debut. “To be the first male amputee model on a New York Fashion Week runway feels amazing — it feels like such a big deal. I just want to show that having a disability doesn’t need to hold you back." Hear, hear. (USA Today)