Transgender models have taken the fashion world by storm, and more and more of them are appearing in high fashion magazines and on the runway. Here are five transgender models in the fashion industry you need to know. 1. Gisele Xtravaganza became the latest transgender model to grace the catwalks of New York Fashion Week. Xtravaganza wore a sheer dress at the Chromat Fall ’15 show on Friday. The show’s theme was “Super-Human Women of the Future,” which was inspired by transgender CEO Martine Rothblatt, who also founded the Terasem Movement. Xtravaganza also participated in the Barney’s Brothers, Sisters, Sons & Daughters campaign in the fall, which featured 17 transgender models. 2. Andreja Pejic isn’t a newcomer to the fashion industry, but she changed her name to Andreja last year after completing her sex reassignment surgery. She walked for esteemed designers like Marc Jacobs and Jean Paul Gaultier and is the star of the upcoming documentary “Andrej(a).” She told Metro in the fall, “I feel 100 percent complete. It’s about proving my position in the industry and speaking out for equal rights and gaining respect in fashion for transgender models, because it doesn’t exist right now.” 3. Lea T is a veteran of the fashion industry. The Brazil-born beauty caught the eye of Givenchy designer Ricardo Tischi in 2010 and has served as his muse ever since. Lea T is also the face of Redken, allegedly making her the first transgender model for a global beauty brand. Lea T was one of the first transgender models to receive wide attention; she posed for the cover of LOVE Magazine with Kate Moss in 2011 and was touted as the “world’s first transsexual supermodel” in 2010 by the Guardian. 4. Geena Rocero came out as a transgender woman last year in a moving TED Talk as she discussed her transition and experience.She said “Because of my success, I never had the courage to share my story, not because I thought what I am is wrong, but because of how the world treats those of us who wish to break free.” After her brave coming out, Rocero walked the runway for Carmen Marc Valvo’s Spring 2015 collection and created an organization called Gender Proud.
5. Ines Rau is anything but shy. The young model, who is of French-North African descent, is happy to flaunt her body and posed nude last year in Oyster Magazine. She told the Oyster reporter, ” Sexy means giving. When you’re sexy you give a little bit of yourself to people, so it’s more about sharing. So that’s why I love to be sexy, because I know that it’s giving people nice vibes.” Rau has also posed for Playboy, and made headlines when she posed nude with Tyson Beckford for French fashion magazine OOB in 2013. Want to see more? Here’s another article about 12 famous transgender celebrities.
