In a landmark move, Chanel Beauty has signed transgender model Teddy Quinlivan to front its new campaign.
This is the first time the luxury French house has appointed a transgender model for its beauty arm.
The 25-year-old American model was first discovered by Louis Vuitton’s Creative Director Nicolas Ghesquière in 2015 and has walked for designers including Carolina Herrera, Jeremy Scott and Jason Wu, before opening up about her trans identity in 2017.
In her beauty career, she has worked with Milk Makeup as a transgender model.
Quinlivan took to Instagram to share the news with her 94,000 followers.
She said: “I had walked two shows for Chanel while I was living in stealth (stealth meaning I hadn’t made my trans identity public yet) and when I came out I knew I’d stop working with some brands, I thought I’d never work with the iconic house of Chanel ever again.
“I am the first openly trans person to work for the house of Chanel, and I am deeply humbled and proud to represent my community.
“Thank you to everyone who made this dream a reality!”
While Quinlivan is the first trans model to front a campaign for Chanel, a number of other beauty brands have tapped members of the trans community for its marketing campaigns.
Munroe and Rain Dove for Illamasqua
Models Munroe Bergdorf and Rain Dove have fronted campaigns for Illamasqua while Valentina Sampaio worked for L’Oréal Paris in 2017.
Chanel brand ambassadors include Kristen Stewart, Penelope Cruz, Margot Robbie and Lily-Rose Depp, who have all appeared in campaigns for the company.
