With models like Andreja Pejic and Lea T flying high in the industry, this summer will see the launch of the first ever agency to exclusively represent transgender models.
Apple Model Managament already has an office in Thailand, and was the first to have a division solely dedicated to transgender models, and now it has a second office in LA.
The agency’s director Cecilio Asuncion told *The Advocate: *“We see trans individuals as beautiful. Our strong commitment to developing them as successful models is never about quantifying or qualifying their gender. It’s never a question of if they are women or men, it’s about their passion and commitment to being the best possible models they can be.”
“But their full potential was never reached because of the stigma the community-at-large had towards the trans community,” he continued. “This has to change."
In the past six months we've seen a long-due shift in the beauty industry with Lea T landing a campaign for haircare brand Redken - the first ever beauty campaign starring a trans model - and Andreja Pejic following suit for Make Up Forever.
Andreja has been walking for Jean Paul Gaultier since 2013 and at last season's shows, more trans models than ever hit the runways.
A shift towards beauty billboards and catwalks being more representative of the real world looks set to gather pace thanks to Apple Models. The agency currently has six models on its books and is searching for more faces.