IN CONVERSATION WITH TEDDY QUINLIVAN
interview JANA LETONJA
Model Teddy Quinlivan is an activist, educator and cultural climate changer. She was already slaying runways on behalf of Prada and Louis Vuitton when she decided to come out as transgender. In 2019, Teddy became the first openy transgender model hired by Chanel.
dress RICK OWENS
shoes VINTAGE CHANEL
Teddy, tell us about the beginning of your modeling career and what peaked your interest in fashion.
I started modeling at about 16 years of age, after the encouragement of my friends and some teachers at my school. I attended an art focused school and had wanted to be a fashion designer from the time I was a child. I fell in love with the runway and the fantasy of photoshoots in the pages of fashion magazines. I always wanted to be apart of that world. I finally sent some pictures to a local agency Maggie Inc in Boston and was signed on the spot after meeting with my mother agent Casey. After working locally for the remainder of my high school career, I had finally achieved my primary goal of going to my dream fashion school Parsons in New York City. However, at the same time, an agency in Paris was interested in signing me. I figured I could defer for a year from Parsons, take a chance and model in Paris. I was under the impression it would be a great way to learn about the business and had no idea my career would actually take off. I booked a job the first day I moved to Paris, a hair show, which gave me the confidence to keep going.
Needless to say, I never went to Parsons. Two years later in Paris, after working some small jobs, I figured it was time to call it quits and go back to school. And just out of a stroke, a new bigger agency in Paris took a chance on me and signed me. After taking my polaroids, they sent them to casting directors. It was then that Ashley Brokaw, perhaps the most important casting director at that moment, took interest in me and sent me to meet Nicolas Ghesquiere, the creative director of Louis Vuitton. I was offered a worldwide contract with Louis Vuitton, walked my first major show and the rest is history.
What do you love the most about fashion and what do you find the biggest challenges of the industry?
I love that fashion has so much influence on culture and the ripples of that influence touch everything. The fashion industry pushes the boundaries of creativity and dictates to the world what is considered to be aspirational. However, I find the highly corporate structure of the business recently has really smothered a lot of that creativity in exchange for increasing profits. I think fashion as an art form can’t thrive without freedom of expression, and the corporate influence is smothering true creativity.
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top & leggings MUGLER
gloves EVERLAST
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dress DION LEE
Which moment from your career so far holds the biggest meaning for you and why?
I can think of a few. The first being my first show for LV because it really felt like a career milestone for me and started my relationship with Nicolas Ghesquiere, who had always been a hero of mine and is a friend to this day. The next was doing the Mutiny fragrance ad for Margiela with John Galliano. I had walked his show many times before, but the fragrance was a huge deal and obviously getting to work with John is iconic. And last, it would have to be coming out as trans publicly.
2017 marked an important step in your life when you came out as transgender. Can you share a bit more about this important step in your life?
I started my transition at 15, but felt I needed to conceal my trans identity to be successful as a model. I also felt it was important to prove that I didn’t need to be tokenized. I wanted to earn my place on the runway without my identity influencing that. After years of working as a successful top model, I was starting to feel the burden of keeping my identity secret. It was taking a huge toll on my personal life and on my soul. In 2017, Donald Trump was president and he made it very clear how he felt about the LGBTQ community and trans people. I saw an opportunity to shake things up and liberate myself and trans people collectively.
How challenging was this decision for you personally, and how important was it to announce it publicly?
I was ready to confront the challenges of coming out. I came out with the New York Times in an article. It was important to come out publicly because I felt the world was ready and the fashion industry at large needed to change the way it approached casting. It was important to prove that transgender people could achieve anything.
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pants & bracelet ZADIG & VOLTAIRE
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full look ZADIG & VOLTAIRE
The support you received was tremendous and it forged a cultural climate change. How has this cultural climate change developed over the years since you came out?
It’s so amazing to see how fashion casting has expanded to include openly transgender men and women. That openness has also expanded to casting in film as well. It’s great to see girls like Col the Doll and Alex Consani walking runways loud and proud as trans at the same age I was while I was walking runways closeted. I think that’s a real symbol of progress.
What do you see the biggest challenges not only trans community, but also all LGBTQ individuals face today?
As an American, I feel the most existential threat to the LGBTQ+ community in our country is extreme radical propaganda, weaponized by the conservatives in our political system to sew hate and devision. The anti-LGBTQ agenda has become a cornerstone of Trump’s re-election campaign and if he wins, the implementation of that agenda could have severe consequences for queer Americans.
How do you use your platforms and your voice to advocate for the whole community, and why is this especially so important in the world we live in today?
By participating in interviews like this one, I’m using my platform to educate and hopefully to destigmatize what it means to be an LGBTQ person living today. I also try to use social media to spread awareness and to show a different side of the trans community that perhaps one wouldn’t see in mainstream media. In a world where our identities are seen as a threat to the status quo, standing up, fighting for your rights and sharing our stories is critical to securing a safer world for our community.
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top & shorts CHRISTIAN COWAN
tights WOLFORD
shoes ZADIG & VOLTAIRE
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top & skirt DES PHEMMES
You also strongly stand against sexual harassment in the industry. What would be your advice for young aspiring models, trying to make their dreams come true in the industry?
I never expected to be sexually assaulted in the workplace. It’s just not something that crosses your mind when you’re backstage on a photo shoot or at a show. I was totally blindsided and shocked when it happened to me, and I’ve never been educated what to do when that happens. There’s no HR department in the modeling industry, there’s no place that you can run to get justice. I made a lot of mistakes in reporting my abuse when it did happen and there are things I definitely would’ve done differently. The most important thing is to have the strength to stand up for yourself and to say no when something crosses a line.
You can’t expect anybody to stand up for you. You need to be able to advocate for yourself. You also need to make sure you have a record of the abuse, whether that’s you calling your agency immediately or telling the casting director immediately, or friend that you can trust. Ideally, you do all three. When you’re assaulted, people tend to not believe the victim. You need to have records to corroborate your story in case you need to go to the police or a lawyer. If you can stand up for yourself in the moment and prevent that from happening in the first place, that’s the best case scenario. If something seems off or suspicious, your safety is the most important thing and don’t be afraid to leave.
What is coming up next for you? Are there any special projects you’re currently working on?
I still continue to model, even 15 years later. I’ve also started to pursue other passions. Nightlife has always been an incredibly important part of my life. I’ve always felt a sense of community at the club. It’s given me a safe place to be myself and to express myself, and I want to share that with people.
I’m doing a party with my good friend and business partner Dante. The party is called INFERNO and we both have the same goal of creating a space for fun, expression and glamour, creating a night in NYC where the queer and straight communities can come together in unison and celebrate life. I really feel we have created something special that is missing from the NYC nightlife landscape. We hope to expand our party and bring it as far and wide as possible to bridge that gap and to unite creatives all over. It’s been a rollercoaster, but hugely fulfilling to give back to the nightlife community that I was raised in and that I found so much of myself in. We don’t just want to get wasted and dance, we wanted to make something iconic, so keep your eyes peeled for the next INFERNO.
TEAM CREDITS
talent TEDDY QUINLIVAN
photographer KOLBY KNIGHT
stylist CHARLIE WARD at SEE MANAGEMENT
makeup RYAN BURKE using PAT MCGRATH LABS
hair YUKIKO TAJIMA at SEE MANAGEMENT
photography assistant JACOB LOVENDAHL
location CHRUCH STREET BOXING GYM
editor TIMI LETONJA
cover design ARTHUR ROELOFFZEN
