Alex Consani on the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, Being a Gen Z Icon, and Trans Representation in Fashion

“I came into fashion at a time when people were looking for a space for diversity. I’ve talked to so many of the great trans models like Dominique Jackson and Connie Fleming,” Consani tells me. “Their experiences were so crazy. Hearing how much they had to push the barriers for me to be where I am today, I could never compare my situation to theirs.”

How Consani operates as a model is reminiscent of the supers who came before her. She’s paving her own way, which gets nodded to in the editorial accompanying this story, wherein Consani plays all the roles on set. And she has appeared in music videos from the year’s hottest stars, including Charli XCX’s “360” and JT’s “OKAY.” For Consani, though, it’s about so much more than saturation in the zeitgeist; she’s breaking barriers.

In August, Consani became the first out trans woman nominated for Model of the Year by the British Fashion Council, and with this story, she makes her Condé Nast cover debut. “Growing up, my mom would always say ‘That’s en vogue’ to indicate that something’s good, and I’m very good today. I feel so gratified.… It means so much more than just me.”

Representation drove Consani to her current career. At 13 years old, she had the “fashion bug,” she says with a sly smile. “Something about it really enticed me, especially when I saw that there weren’t many other trans models out there.” That year, while attending a trans summer camp in Los Angeles, Consani met other Gen Z trans icons like Diesel muse Ella Snyder and activist Jazz Jennings. “I saw all these girls accomplish so much at such a young age,” she recalls. “I was so inspired.”

When Consani got home to the Bay Area, she asked her parents to help her pursue her dreams of becoming a model. Her mother searched for agencies online before stumbling across the trans-focused Slay Model Management (how appropriate) on Facebook. From there, Consani became the youngest trans model ever signed to an agency.

For nearly a decade, Consani has been grinding away, attending go-sees and working toward her moment. Now that she has arrived, she wants to remind up-and-coming models — and her younger self — that patience is a virtue. “For a long time, I didn’t trust the process. I would do one job, then I wouldn’t work for a year. I think I needed that time to really develop myself,” she reflects. “A lot of people are really pushing to do jobs, but I think divine timing is so real in this industry. You have to trust that things will come to you when they’re meant to.”