Jillian Mercado Slays It on Beyoncé's Clothing Campaign

A couple of years ago Jillian Mercado, the 27-year-old New Yorker, was beginning to stand out as a fashion reference; she managed her own blog and jumped to fame for being the image of the Diesel and Nordstrom brands.

And, soon after, Beyoncé, yes the Queen B, has chosen her to be the face of her brand's collection. As a model who suffers from muscular dystrophy, she does not let her condition stop her from being an inspiration for patients who are like her.

Jillian is constantly posting photos on her Instagram account to announce her participation in different campaigns, and she is the living image of a person with a great self-esteem, regardless of having muscular dystrophy.

For Beyoncé’s clothing campaign, she posted a photo with the caption: "Ok girls, let's get into FORMATION, I'm really excited to announce that I'm on the Beyoncé website!"

When asked what she meant with the word "Formation", Jillian answered that it was a mention of the singer's newest single at the time, which was famously on Beyoncé's visual album Lemonade. "Formation" is one of the singer's most political songs, which has sparked some controversy when it was first released.

Getting to know a bit more about Jillian Mercado

Jillian is a young woman who was diagnosed with this incurable disease when she was very young: at the age of three her parents, Dominican immigrants, realized that something was wrong. By the age of 14, she already visited a number of different doctors and had undergone 14 surgeries and extensive physical therapy. When Jillian had her first electric wheelchair, at 12, the color was the only thing that mattered for her; there she felt like "wonder woman", as she could go wherever she wanted. But, this didn't stop her. Later on, she went to the New York Fashion Institute of Technology and the rest has been history.

During an interview via e-mail with Entremujeres, Jillian was asked to describe herself and she said the following words: "I am ambitious, strong and I have a positive attitude because my parents showed me that these qualities are very important."

She went on to say, "Being a woman in the fashion industry, besides being Hispanic and having a disability, is a lot for just one person. However, life can throw a million stones to you, but it only matters how you take it and what you do with it. I only know what I want, and if that means having to be strong, it's fine with me."

Jillian's humble attitude is just one of the things which drags the attention of the people surrounding her. She keeps being extremely natural and conveying a good aura to anyone near her, regardless of being the most recognizable model with muscular dystrophy in the fashion industry.

She has mentioned that it all happened very fast. In only two years, she went from a blogger to the most recognized model with some kind of physical limitation in the latest years. She says that she can summarize this entire experience with only one phrase: “When life gives you lemons, you build an empire.”

Fashion was always a part of Jillian's life

Jillian has had a life full of fashion since she was very young. She was born in the U.S from two parents who were immigrants of Santiago, Dominical Republic. Jillian can recall the time she spent toying with her mother’s sewing machine. It was about that time when she started learning about fabrics. She also mentions that she had a lot of fun while trying on shoes that were two times her size. This passion for fashion stuck with her for her entire life, so she decided to study merchandising management at New York’s esteemed Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) hoping to work on something related to this field.

Once she had graduated, Jillian took various courses behind the scenes, looking to improve her knowledge. Then she had the opportunity to work with the professional photographer Patrick McMullan. She later became the creative director of “We,” an important urban magazine. Also, It is worth mentioning that Jillian never took seriously the idea of becoming a model, but she submitted herself to an open call for Diesel to have an opportunity to work with Nicola Formichetti.

It was during a launch party for an issue of the popular “We the Urban” magazine that Formichetti and Jillian became acquainted since this issue featured the denim brand’s artistic director on the cover. Jillian took the plunge thanks to a friend, but she thought she was not going to be selected. However, she was notified by Diesel two weeks later that she was in the running for a future feature in a new campaign.

After the campaign was launched, she was photographed by the venerable and world renown photographer Inez and Vinoodh. These pictures became viral pretty quickly. Then she appeared on various television shows, including E! News. She also received praise for representing the differently abled in the world of fashion.

Jillian says that then she knew the responsibility she had and although she was very excited about the idea of Diesel calling her, she internalized it pretty well and did her work properly. Still, her story of successes does not end there, since Jillian has already starred in campaigns for Nordstrom and Target, as well as editorial features in the September issues of Glamour and Cosmopolitan. After that, she also shot for Carine Roitfeld’s CR Fashion Book by Michael Avedon.

Then, what could be considered the peak of her career, she appeared in the merchandise campaign for Beyoncé’s Formation World Tour.

Jillian was very happy about the opportunity and she says she’s showing that having a disability does not mean you should be kept from what you want to do. Your disability should be embraced like any other quality that you have.