Vogue USA - 04.2020

(singke) #1

Paloma Elsesser,
United States
In the ongoing conversation around representation
on the runway, Elsesser has emerged as a trailblazing
agent for change, a vocal advocate of inclusivity who has
spoken candidly about her experiences as one of the only
curve models of color in the world of high fashion. “Growing up,
I never envisioned a place for myself in fashion—even in
the curve industry, I always felt like either my proportions were
wrong or I didn’t fall into a prescribed Latina identity,” says
Elsesser, 28, who was born to a Chilean-Swiss father and an
African-American mother. “The power in me doing this is
that I get to make space for the next person.” Five years ago,
makeup artist Pat McGrath came across Elsesser’s Instagram
profile and swiftly booked her—at the time, she was studying
literature and psychology at Manhattan’s New School—to front
the launch campaign of McGrath’s namesake makeup line,
almost instantly catapulting her into a global spotlight. She
has since become emblematic of a new class of like-minded
creatives, including photographer Tyler Mitchell, stylist Carlos
Nazario, and designers Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta, who are
shaking up the fashion system from the inside out. “It feels like
there’s a whole new guard of image-makers,” says Elsesser.
“Yes, fashion is in the business of beauty and fantasy—but now
we are able to rewrite what that fantasy looks like.”
Alexander McQueen dress.

Free download pdf