Photo by Feathered Red Photography

Members of the IU football team served as escorts for some of the models. Photo by Feathered Red Photography

On Friday, February 16, Down Syndrome Family Connection hosted a fashion show as part of Bloomington’s annual Week of Chocolate, sponsored by LIFEDesigns. The show, called Cocoa Couture, took place in Shreve Hall at Ivy Tech Community College–Bloomington.

Cocoa Couture featured models with Down Syndrome who met with guests for photos and autographs after the show. The models were accompanied by well-known Bloomingtonians such as Malcolm Abrams of Bloom Magazine, former Miss Indiana Shelli Yoder, director Angelo Pizzo, and members of the Indiana University football team.

The following is a list of the models and their escorts:

Rebecca Johnson escorted by Lesamarie Lilibet Hacker
Hannah Founds escorted by Courtney Harris
Krystopher Lataillade escorted by Mark Norris
Julia Corbin escorted by Adria Nassim and Lucy
Samuel Dove escorted by Shelli Yoder
Betsy Higgins escorted by Brad Lawrence
Keno Suzuki escorted by Leslie Green
Madalyn Reynolds escorted by Angelo Pizzo
Noah Lapenta Stout escorted by Malcolm Abrams
Paisley Ratkovich escorted by Juan Carlos Carrasquel
Shelly Hackett escorted by Susan Rinne
Addisyn Cornwell escorted by George Cornwell
Abel MacNeil Kitscher escorted by Coach Mike Grubb
Fiona O’Connor escorted by Caleb Weintraub
Justin Lovell escorted by IU Football players
Kim Mitchell escorted by Bob Zaltsberg
Oliver “Ollie” Heath escorted by Susan Ellenwood
Brianna Galyan escorted by Chef Daniel Orr
Gus Tayloe escorted by Krista Decor
Madison Collins escorted by IU Football players

IN CELEBRATION OF MARCH BEING INDIANA DISABILITY AWARENESS MONTH, CHECK OUT THIS PHOTO GALLERY OF THE COCOA COUTURE FASHION SHOW HERE. (Click the photo below to start the slideshow. Use the on-screen arrows or the arrows on your keyboard to navigate forward and backward.) PHOTOS BY FEATHERED RED PHOTOGRAPHY