Teddy Quinlivan has made fashion history by becoming the first openly trans woman to appear in a Chanel campaign.
The model and activist announced she is the first openly transgender model to be tapped by Chanel Beauty for an advertising campaign.
Quinlivan shared the news on her Instagram account, posting a video and image from the campaign along with a heartfelt quote on the significance of this role.
“I find I don’t cry anymore when things are sad, but isn’t it interesting when we shed tears in moments of triumph?” she wrote.
“This was one of those triumphant cry moments for me. My whole life has been a fight. From being bullied at school consistently, kids threatening to kill me and going into graphic detail how they were going to do it, my own father beating me and calling me a f–got, to receiving industry blowback after speaking publicly about being sexually assaulted on the job.…This was a victory that made all of that s–t worth it.”
After walking the runway for brands such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Chloé, to name a few, Quinlivan came out publicly as transgender in September 2017.
Upon revealing her former life to the world, the 25-year-old worried that she would never work again with exclusive heritage brands such as the Parisian Chanel.
Quinlivan continued to express her excitement over the Chanel Beauty campaign on her Instagram Stories, praising other members of the LGBTQ community — including actresses Laverne Cox and Hunter Schafer and Victoria’s Secret model Valentina Sampaio — for their accomplishments.
“This is such an exciting time to be alive if you’re a member of the LGBTQ community, especially if you’re [transgender] because trans girls are just out here f–king killing it,” she said.
“There is no glass ceiling that is unbreakable like this is our moment to seize the world and we just have to keep fighting and keep getting ourselves out there and making a difference and bringing exposure to the trans community to the forefront of the global stage.”
Chanel has also been praised for casting Quinlivan, given that the campaign featured the Boston-native as if she were any other model, eschewing tokenism or PR stunts for the brand.
In recognition of this milestone for the trans community in fashion, leading figures like Trace Lysette and Munroe Bergdorf have taken to Instagram to show their support for Quinlivan and the campaign.
Main image by @teddyquinlivan
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