Paris, February 14 (BBC Newsbeat): Vogue Paris is going to feature a transgender model on its cover for the first time next month.Editor Emmanuelle Alt says she has “beauty striking enough to stun on the cover of Vogue.”
Brazilian Valentina Sampaio has more than 32,000 followers on Instagram.
The French fashion magazine has been running since 1920, with previous cover stars including Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Kate Moss.
In her editorial column for next month’s issue, Emmanuelle Alt goes on to say the transgender model is the “absolute equal” of other iconic women in fashion.
“Apart from one small detail, Valentina, the femme fatale, was born a boy,” she adds.
“It’s a detail one would prefer not to have to mention… but Valentina is on the cover of Vogue this month, not just for her looks or her sparkling personality, but because despite herself she embodies an age-old arduous struggle to be recognized and not to be perceived as something Other.”
Although this is a first for French Vogue, other magazines have had trans cover stars before.
Valentina Sampaio was on the front Elle in her home country of Brazil last October, while fellow trans model Hari Nef has featured in the UK edition of Elle.
But Emmanuelle Alt says it’s something her magazine is now proud to be part of.
“Trans people, the ultimate symbol of a rejection of conformity, are icons that Vogue supports and chooses to celebrate,” she says.
“But only when a transgendered person poses on the front cover of a fashion magazine and it is no longer necessary to write an editorial on the subject will we know that the battle is won.”
(The featured image at the top is that of Valentina Sampaio)
