April Lockhart says the disabled community wants to 'feel sexy.' Here's why she's modeling for Victoria's Secret and its accessible lingerie collection.

It Figures is Yahoo Life's body image series, delving into the journeys of influential and inspiring figures as they explore what body confidence, body neutrality and self-love mean to them.

It was just two years ago that April Lockhart, a 28-year-old living in Nashville, Tenn., started a series on social media called "Normalizing Disabled Fashion Girlies."

Now, 69,200 followers later, Lockhart has added another impressive feat to her list of accomplishments: modeling for Victoria's Secret at New York Fashion Week's Runway of Dreams.

The content creator, born with her left arm not fully formed due to amniotic band syndrome (a rare condition when bands from the amniotic sac get tangled around a growing fetus), tells Yahoo Life that she's "loved clothes from a young age," but hasn't seen any significant spaces for the disability community within the industry. It's why she's now creating the change she has longed to see.

Like most women, Lockhart has a storied history with the lingerie brand, known best for its marketing campaigns and runway shows that starred the illustrious "Angels" and had a marked lack of inclusivity.

"It just felt super out of reach," she says of the faces and bodies that were plastered on Victoria's Secret windows across malls in America. "I bought it because my friends were wearing it."

It's not only Victoria's Secret, of course, that Lockhart felt this way about, due to her reality of living with a limb difference in a society that caters to able-bodied people. "I guess you only know what you know, and I never really even knew there was a world outside of [my experience]," she says. "I just knew that I sort of had to adapt to what the industry was," meaning that the function of her clothing, as well as its marketing, has often overlooked her specific needs.

Functionally, for example, Lockhart has had difficulty when it comes to tying or buttoning pieces of clothing. She also struggles with the length of sleeves on her left arm. It's the lack of representation, however, that has been most difficult for her.

"It was hard not really seeing anyone that looked like me," she says. "It sort of creates this feeling of, you know, am I weird? Am I different, in a bad way? Like, why don't I see anyone that looks like me?"

With her latest work for Victoria's Secret, which debuted a collection of adaptive pieces with Runway of Dreams on Sept. 13, Lockhart has become a part of bigger efforts to make sure that others don't feel that way.

Mindy Scheier, founder of Runway of Dreams and founder/CEO of GAMUT Management, a consulting and talent management company representing people with disabilities, tells Yahoo Life that the partnership with Victoria's Secret was two years in the making.

"This past February we joined forces to present a panel called 'Getting Intimate with Disability.' It was a first-of-its-kind open discussion, with a panel lead by Victoria’s Secret executives and women with disabilities," says Scheier. "The panel broke open the conversation to what intimacy means to women who live with disabilities, what makes them feel sexy and beautiful and the unfortunate limited choices available in intimates for their large consumer base."

From there, Victoria's Secret and GAMUT worked to create the lingerie brand's first adaptive collection, featuring bras and panties with magnetic closures for ease of use, as well as front adjustable straps and soft fabric.

"Almost 200 women with different disabilities were involved in the process, which is something we’re really proud of," says Scheier. "Women with disabilities want to wear what everyone else is wearing: They want to wear Victoria’s Secret products. They were the little girls who wanted to have their first bra and couldn’t. Many women said they never imagined this day would come."

Adds Lockhart, "The market is super limited for lingerie and clothes that make you feel sexy, that are adaptive. Everybody has the same desires, they want to feel sexy in what they wear. And I think this is finally giving us a chance to feel that."

The adaptive intimates from Victoria's Secret and PINK didn't appear in the brand's latest fashion show, The Tour, released on Amazon Prime on Tuesday. But they'll be available in select stores and online in October. Lydia Smith, Victoria’s Secret & Co chief diversity officer, tells Yahoo Life that it's top-of-mind for the brand.

"We’re committed to ensuring we embed diversity, equity and inclusion into all facets of our business," she says. "This commitment shows up in our dedication to creating products that support our customers and their unique abilities, sizes, body types and life stages."

Lockhart says "it's a start" that she hopes will lead to bigger changes.

"Seeing disabled models mixed into everyday models on the runway is so important," she says. "It's not everywhere, but it is a normal part of life."