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From slow mornings to viral shoots, Grace takes on life in jeans, combat boots and pure courage, rewriting the rules of beauty and breaking ceilings in style.
Grace Strobel doesn’t leap out of bed like those people in coffee adverts. She wakes slowly, then kicks the day into gear by greeting God and counting her blessings. It’s her first spark of the morning and it sets the rhythm for everything else.
Her wardrobe holds plenty of options, but there’s one combination that flips her confidence switch: Veronica Beard jeans, a black shirt and combat boots. The jeans were a gift, but the feeling they give her? That’s all her own. In them, she says, she feels awesome. And awesome looks good on her.
Fashion, for Grace, is a mirror that reflects back her pride in herself. She learned from her mum that showing up well, whether in jeans or in a gown, matters. “It’s just fun getting dressed up and looking good,” she says, as if that joy should be obvious to everyone.
Her disability hasn’t kept her from the runway. It’s invited her to stand on it, front and centre, showing the world what inclusion actually looks like. When she sees others stepping into challenges that seem impossible, she takes it as a dare to try something new herself. And she hopes her own leaps will spark that same fire in someone else.
Grace has been chosen for campaigns and shoots that push her into the spotlight. Each one feels incredible because it shows another audience that talent doesn’t fit into a single mould. With every photo, she widens the frame for what fashion can be.
Ask her about beauty and she’ll tell you it starts inside. When you feel good in there, it radiates outwards, and suddenly you’re untouchable, not because others approve, but because you already do.
Still, she’s known what it feels like to stand on shaky ground. Before modelling, she co-created #TheGraceEffect with her mum. It’s a school presentation on kindness, belonging and dignity, born out of her own experience with bullying. She and the students even swap perspectives through role-playing exercises, letting them feel the challenges faced by people with Down syndrome. Preparing wasn’t easy. Public speaking came with stutters, stage nerves and the monumental task of memorizing a 45-minute talk. She practiced five days a week for six months so when she finally stood in front of an audience, she had already conquered something huge.
That courage paved the way for modelling. Her first shoot went viral, and soon the requests rolled in: interviews, campaigns, even a session for a local dentist. She said yes to everything, not out of recklessness, but because doors were opening and she was ready to walk through them.
Her advice for anyone underestimated? Work hard, believe in yourself, never give up. Wear blinders if you must. Surround yourself with challengers and supporters alike. And remember, everyone has something worth showing the world. Grace’s favourite way to do that? She smashes old perceptions!
- Model
- Speaker
- Advocate
- Athlete
- Friend
She refuses to fit into one role, because she knows she was made for many.
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Grace Strobel: Fashion in Motion
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