On Monday night, American model Alex Consani became the first openly transgender person to receive the prestigious title of Model of the Year at the British Fashion Council’s Fashion Awards.
The 21-year-old utilized the occasion to speak to the fashion industry’s elite about the historic importance of her victory while accepting the award at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
She shouted to the audience, “I am the first trans woman to win this award!” However, I can’t accept this award without giving credit to my predecessors, especially the Black trans women who battled so hard to earn the position I hold today. According to Consani, people that battled for the room that allowed me to thrive included Dominique Jackson, Connie Fleming, and Aaron Rose Philip.
After expressing gratitude to her parents, Consani came to the conclusion that change is not only possible but also necessary.
She became the latest in a long line of well-known models to win the yearly prize, including Bella Hadid, Cara Delevingne, and Kate Moss.
Making history is nothing new to Consani.
Having signed with IMG Models in 2019 at the age of 15, she is believed to be the youngest openly trans model to sign with a major modeling agency. Along with Brazilian model Valentina Sampaio, she was also one of the first openly trans models to walk in the renowned Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in October.
Originally from Northern California, Consani first gained notoriety during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic for her humorous TikTok videos. Since then, she has accumulated almost 3.9 million app followers and 1.5 million Instagram followers.
Consani has walked in shows for some of the world’s most prestigious luxury brands, such as Burberry, Chanel, Alexander McQueen, and Jacquemus, over her brief but impressive career. She had an appearance in the music video for the song 360 by Charli XCX, which is a popular song off her Brat album, in May.
She wore a damaged British flag interwoven into a strapless, off-white minidress on Monday, which trailed behind her and hung over her left shoulder. The popular Turkish-British designer Dilara Findikoglu created the outfit.
Tom Ford won the Outstanding Achievement Award at this year’s Fashion Awards, while Jonathan Anderson, the creative director of LVMH fashion company Loewe, won Designer of the Year.
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