Givenchy Features Transgender Model in New Campaign

Designer Riccardo Tisci from Givenchy is pushing the envelope with more than just fashion with the latest Fall – Winter collection. As Women’s Wear Daily can confirm, the campaign for the line features model Lea T. who once actually used to be called Leo and who is among the few transgender models to be used in high fashion.

Though it’s not unheard of for transgender models to break through and forge a successful career in fashion, the reality still remains that few actually are even given the time of day. Lea T. is a fortunate example that these things do happen and she has her delicate features and slim frame to thank for that – of course, being Tisci’s friend and assistant for a long time also helps.

“Givenchy designer Riccardo Tisci has taken the whole idea of ‘coed fashion shoot’ to another level: The designer is using a [transgender model] among the cast for the house’s fall-winter ad campaign, and it’s someone he knows well: his longtime personal assistant and, interestingly enough, former fit model for his own line. Lea T., a Brazilian with delicate features previously known as Leo, appears alongside an ethnically diverse range of faces in the spots, slated to break in the July issue of L’Uomo Vogue. ‘She’s always been very feminine: superfragile, very aristocratic,’ Tisci enthused of the former Mr. T. ‘She’s part of the family,’ he said, noting that Lea is transitioning into a new career, veterinary medicine, in Milan,” WWD writes.

“Model Mariacarla Boscono, there with Tisci since his start at Givenchy five years ago, appears alongside nine other models, including Malgosia Bela, her hair dyed pink, and Joan Smalls. While some women might find the edgy ads a matter of taste, Tisci explained that including a transgender person exemplifies the masculine-feminine dichotomy that has become one of his design signatures and follows coed casting for his Paris runway last March. Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott shot the ads in a Paris studio. The campaign includes dedicated images for Givenchy eyewear and watches, and Tisci said media budgets would increase in certain growth markets for the brand,” the fashion publication further writes.

As also noted above, this is not the first time that a transgender model has a surprising breakthrough in high fashion. A little over a year ago, transgender actress and model Patricia Araujo stole the thunder on the last day of Fashion Week in Rio, getting a standing ovation from the audience and being described as the best and most spectacular model of the entire event.