After years as an editorial and catwalk model for the likes of Jean Paul Gaultier, Marc Jacobs and Vogue, Andreja Pejic has secured a lucrative contract as the face of Make Up For Ever, making her the first transgender model to lead a campaign for a big beauty brand. Brazilian transgender model Lea T has already headed up Redken’s haircare campaigns, but this is the first make-up company to have used a trans woman in its commercial slot. It’s another step towards greater diversity in fashion and beauty advertising.
Whilst drag queen RuPaul famously fronted MAC’s Viva Glam campaigns in the 1990, advertising has been largely conservative in its choices of faces. The industry has been criticized in the past for being even further behind magazine editorial shoots when it comes to diversity. As campaigns are the big money spinners for models, they’re an important indicator of their power within the industry.