Apr 7th, 2016, 01:57 PM

In the Fashion Industry, Trans Is More Than a Trend

By Mark Miller
Andreja Pejic in Elle Magazine. Image Credit: Elle.
A rise in transgender models and agencies promotes visibility and acceptance.

When it comes to embracing diversity, the fashion industry is beginning to look like a progressive microcosm of society at large. From luxury brands to mainstream retailers, fashion is pushing to represent not only all races, but also the spectrum of gender identity. Where beauty ideals are constantly being redefined and evolving to include what has been historically unconventional, there is an opportunity to expand the horizons for trans models. 

Advertising campaigns were the first arena in which trans models found their place. Givenchy became well known for casting Lea T, designer Riccardo Tisci’s assistant-turned-muse, in its Fall 2010 campaign. Tisci’s decision brought visibility to this underrepresented community and when he later brought her back to model his couture gowns, it was proof that there should be no reason a transwoman is seen any differently in front of the camera — or elsewhere.

In 2014, Barneys New York partnered with the National Center for Transgender Equality and the LGBT Community Center to find 17 trans models to feature in its Spring campaign, shot by Bruce Weber.

Barneys's "Brothers, Sisters, Sons & Daughters" campaign. Image Credit: Barneys.

While magazines emerge later in this 21st-century gender revolution, American Vogue May 2015 had its first ever editortal featuring a transgender model with 24-year-old Australian Andreja Pejic. Prior to her transition, she had previously booked high profile covers of L’Officiel June 2011 and the fashion issue of New York Magazine, August 2011.

As Pejic climbs to the top of the industry she is conscious of the discrimination she must fight against. She told Vogue, “It is about showing that this is not just a gimmick.”

Models Hari Nef and Andreja Pejic. Image Credit: Getty Images.

Other trans model icons have emerged recently, including Hari Nef and Juliana Huxtable, who were both photographed by Patrick Demarchelier in American Vogue January 2016. Nef, an American actress known for her role in Amazon's Transparent, and Huxtable, a black trans artist whose work has been shown at the New Museum, have received an overwhelming amount of recognition for their beauty and creative talent.

Last year, Nef became the first trans woman to be signed worldwide with IMG Models. The news was game-changing because although traditional agencies occasionally work with trans models, opportunities remain scarce due to lack of widespread acceptance. 

In New York, Peche Di took the matter upon herself to change mind by founding her own trans-only agency, Trans Models, in March 2015. It is now one of three transgender agencies in the U.S., including Transcendence Icon in Boise, Idaho, and the Los Angeles branch of Thailand’s Apple Model Management. On its model applications, the genders to choose from lists: Transwoman, Transman, Nonbinary, Gender-Queer and Gender-Fluid. 

Founder of Trans Model Management Peche Di (center) with her models in New York. Image Credit: The Atlantic.  

Gender fluidity has also begun to direct the runway into unmarked territory, where top designers like Jean Paul Gaultier, Raf Simons, and Saint Laurent prod at gender lines in their collections. Men wearing women's skinny jeans has become commonplace, and skirts, dresses and other typically feminine wardrobe items have become increasingly regular on men's runways.

As the transgender community gains media visibility, it still remains an object of curiosity and often scrutiny. But in an industry marked by fleeting obsessions that change with the seasons, the celebration of the transgender community is certainly not just a trend.