Non-binary models killing it on the catwalk

Fashion has long been interested in exploring the androgynous look. But today, as a new array of gender identities has increasingly become part of mainstream society, many genderqueer and non-binary models are taking the fashion world by storm.

After making a career in the world of womenswear, this gender-fluid model made waves in 2012, when they got a buzzcut and started walking for menswear too. In 2018, they said they didn’t think the move to more inclusivity in the fashion world was a passing trend. In this Instagram series, they shared the caption: "Isn’t it wild how differently we’re treated when we look one way vs another⁉️"

Image: Elliotsailors/Instagram

This Filipino-American model and beauty influencer has received multiple awards for his work. In June 2023, Rock was on the cover of Vogue Philippines and talked about his relationship with his gender identity. "I'm too delusional. I'm in my own world, call me whatever you want. That's why I go by all the genders… Girl, I'm Bretman. I'm not a woman, I'm not a man," Rock said.

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Casil McArthur started as a female model but decided to transition to a man and continued a highly successful fashion career. He now identifies as a man but takes joy in subverting what that means with non-conforming looks and attitudes.

Best known for their role in 'Pose,' they have also made significant strides in the modeling world. Assigned a male at birth, they are transgender and non-binary and began working for Dior and Gucci as young as 15, more than 13 years ago.

Perhaps best known for placing second on 'RuPaul’s Drag Race UK,' Bimini identifies as a woman in drag, but as non-binary offstage. After the show, they were signed with a major modeling agency, which they said was "huge for non-binary representation in fashion." They have graced the magazines like British GQ, Vogue Italia, and British Vogue.

Joakim says he's queer, but told Vogue in 2022 that although he identified as a man then "how I identify or who I am is such a big question." Joakim models in both womenswear and menswear and walks for many amazing designers.

Image: joakimgjemmestad / Instagram

This California-born transgender and non-binary model took the fashion world by storm, getting their big break in the fall 2018 Gucci show where they carried a baby dragon down the runway. "Non-binary is sort of an umbrella term underneath transgender that means I'm somewhere in between the binary of a girl and a boy. I feel like I am a mix of the two, which makes me non-binary," they told Refinery 29.

This non-conforming model has made a major impact on both fashion and the world of social media under their Instagram account 'uglyworldwide'. They told British Vogue that they were "absolutely not comfortable" with the way they looked growing up, but then "stopped trying to conform to society’s standard of beauty."

Assigned female at birth, they grew up thinking they were ugly because they had a larger physique than other girls, they eventually got into modeling on a dare by a friend to present themselves as a man in a Calvin Klein casting for underwear. Since then, they walked for both men’s and women's fashion shows.

This freelance writer, advocate, and influencer is also a model. Assigned female at birth, ze underwent gender reassignment surgery but doesn't identify as either male or female.

Ruby Rose is a model, designer, television host, and actress best known for her role on 'Orange is the New Black.' She identifies as gender-fluid and uses both she/her and they/them pronouns. She said that if she had to choose a sex, she would choose to be male, but she does not feel like she should have been born with different body parts.

This Mexican non-binary model has been making waves around the world and can be seen here in a campaign for Gucci and Vogue Mexico. "Little by little I’m noticing that there's less of an obligation towards binarity from the modeling angle," they told Vogue in 2022.

Image: Vogue México y Latinoamérica / YouTube

Grace Valentine has been walking in men's shows, women's shows and as non-binary for the last couple of years. They went absolutely viral when walking for Fenti and taking their shoes off halfway down the catwalk. They later said that they were uncomfortable and unable to walk, so they removed their shoes. That matter-of-fact confidence is magnetic.

All their career they opted for a gender-neutral kind of look, but they eventually came out as non-binary and began walking for both men's and women’s shows. In an interview with Vogue, they complained that they sometimes don't feel thin enough to be walking in menswear and that there are heavy expectations for women too. "I think finding the middle ground for being able to portray womenswear in my own body with the way it is is definitely something that I've always wanted to do," they said.

Image: fish f10rucci / Youtube

This Slovakian non-binary model and activist has carved out an important place in the fashion industry, modeling for top fashion and makeup brands. Despite the progress observed throughout their career, they told the Standard in 2023: "Just last year, a casting agent said to me 'I hope you have your heels and you're ready to pretend to be a woman', I thought we were past this."

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