![]() ![]() A relocation to Paris briefly revived her career, working with Balenciaga, but after moving back to the United States, her career ended when word of her gender spread again. She'd go on to shoot for Ultra Sheen, Avon, and Essence before being outed among fashion insiders around 1981. 512), and because of its status as one of the brand's best-selling boxes, they extended her first contract by four years, marketing the product for a total of six.īut that wasn't Norman's only success: She got her break shooting for Vogue Italia with Irving Penn, at a rate of $1,500 a day, alongside models like Peggy Dillard. The company made a hue based on the color of Norman's hair (Born Beautiful, No. Thus, most made it into the historical record only if they were outed.Īfter Ashley came Tracey Norman, known to some as Tracey Africa, who hit the height of her career early, appearing as the face of a new hair dye in Clairol's line in 1975. On that timeline, for the first half-century, trans models worked with varying success, typically without discussing their gender in an effort to book jobs. She was one of the first on a timeline of trans models that stretches through to today. ![]() And though she tried to restart her career (she signed with an agency in Spain), jobs were canceled once her identity was unveiled.Īshley has since been honored with an exhibition at the Museum of Liverpool, April Ashley: Portrait of a Lady, which attracted a reported 1 million visitors. "To come from the backstreets of Liverpool, and here you are in the most glamorous was a dream come true," she said.īut that dream came to an abrupt end in 1961 when tabloids outed her, causing all brands to stop working with her. Her high point was appearing in British Vogue, shot by photographer David Bailey. They wanted me in their portfolio." But she also began to get runway and editorial work. "None of the photographers gave a damn about my past. "They all knew about my operation - they all knew who I was," Ashley told interviewers for an as-yet-untitled documentary about her life, now in development. The introductions worked swiftly, and Ashley signed with an agent named Signon, who began booking her out six months in advance for projects with photographers like Brian Duffey, Richard Dormer, and Terence Donovan - some of the top names in their field. When Ashley followed Churchill and Lockwood's advice, and returned to her home country later that year, the duo introduced her to the city as a model. It was 1960, and she was 25 at the time, making her one of the first Britons to have the procedure. It was a pair of friends, actresses Sarah Churchill and Julia Lockwood, who got April Ashley to move back to London after she underwent gender confirmation surgery in Casablanca. ![]() According to Graham, the brand's impetus, in its most recent iteration, is "to create work opportunities for trans women of color, because redistribution of financial capital is the most effective way to empower people within the capitalist economic structure in which we survive." The designer calls out a very different prerogative than that of Marco Marco, whose inclusion arguably starts and stops with a blockbuster fashion show. She then cast community members as models and design collaborators. (The second runway collection, presented for Fall 2016, focused on the violence inflicted on them.) Both shows also highlighted the talents of trans femmes, as Graham has worked with this community to produce the presentations, create soundtracks, design sets, and shoot imagery. The event, held in the lobby of the Ace Hotel, was a love letter to trans femmes and their journey, and was the first in a string of shows that centered on their narratives and experiences. In 2015, Gogo Graham put on her first NYFW show, displaying her fifth collection of one-of-a-kind pieces for trans femmes. ![]()
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