Fashion design is a celebrated profession for many reasons. To name a few, it is praised for it’s extremity, creativity, originality, open-minded nature and for it’s knack for finding and producing beauty out of odd or idiosyncratic circumstances. All of this is true about fashion design, yet sadly the modeling world does not always reflect this open-mindedness. High fashion models have been notoriously exclusive to white women of a very specific height and weight range. In other words, an overwhelming percentage of working, high fashion models are tall, thin and very white. It is unfortunate that even in a unique and creativity-based industry, there are still some aspects of it that remain extremely homogeneous. However, just like the rest of the world, the fashion and modeling world is experiencing ground-breaking changes. Recently, several high fashion lines have signed on nontraditional models to represent their upcoming collections. This shows evidence of the appreciation of a new kind of beauty, the type of beauty that comes from being confident in their own differences from the rest of the homogenous world.
One such example is the model most recently known as Lea T. Lea T, who used to be Leandro Cerezo, is a Brazilian model that got her start as the assistant to Riccardo Tisci, creative director for Givenchy. Tisci took notice of Lea’s stunning looks, and has referred to her as “innately elegant”, and “aristocratic”. He has cast her in the Givenchy label’s newest ad campaign. Additionally she appears in this month’s French Vogue. In the magazine, she is posing nude, with her long hair falling over her breasts, while she covers her genitals with her hand. Although Lea T is preparing to undergo a full hormonal and physical sex change, she still currently has male genitalia.
Another example is the Bosnian-born model Andrej Pejic. Pejic made his start modeling in Australia, but has since become widely recognized throughout the entire fashion world for his striking features, white-blonde hair and his famously androgynous look. Pejic looks even more feminine than Lea T, so much so that he is almost unrecognizable as a man in many photos. However, no matter how thin, graceful and slim-limbed he is, his chest is still undoubtedly hard and masculine. The result is a rare kind of beauty, that is subtle, sexy and still oddly masculine and strong. Pejic was featured in the Jean Paul Gaultier Spring/Summer 2011 ad campaign. He has walked in runway shows for well-known designers, John Galliano, Paul Smith and Raf Simons.
It is nice to see a refreshing change in fashion modeling. In a world where change and originality know no boundaries, it is only fitting that models have the freedom to express their own personalities as well. The bravery of models like Lea T and Adrej Pejic is inspirational to designers, models, fashion design students and fashion lovers alike!
