Trans supermodel walks in Omaha Fashion Week designer's line to support transgender rights
An international supermodel turns heads around the world for her beauty and bravery.
She took her cause to the runway at Omaha Fashion Week on Wednesday.
Hours before the show, Ohio designer Melissa Atkinson checked her model's hair.
She put the finishing touches on her models, knowing Wednesday’s runway was very special.
“There’s a lot of adversity against transgender people and I’m just here to use my talent to help,” Atkinson said.
A year ago, she began designing clothing specifically for transgender people.
She said it’s something mainstream fashion doesn't often offer.
“There’s a lot of issues with fit, especially people early in their transition, need help getting that feminine figure or that masculine figure that they want,” Atkinson said.
When given the chance to shed light on a topic so dear to her, she jumped at the opportunity to design a line for Omaha Fashion Week.
"I want to bring more acceptance into the trans community as well as give them clothing that they really need," she said. “It makes me feel like I’m doing something important, and I hope other designers begin to think about this as well.”
In a groundbreaking move, she said all of her models are trans.
That caught the eye of a supermodel.
“Paris. London. New York. LA. South Africa. Greece,” Lauren Foster said, listing off the runways she’s walked.
Now Omaha is on that list.
"I love Omaha. I think it's really cool,” Foster said.
Foster is a pioneer in the trans model community.
"It’s an LGBT-inclusive show and it's highlighting LGBT rights, and I’m an LGBT advocate. I’m a trans woman," she said.
At 18, Foster became a trans woman while managing an already successful career, until someone shared her story.
"I’ve been modeling for a long time. And when I was first was outed as trans I modeled for Vogue. And I always felt cheated a little bit,” Foster said.
Her mission became one of advocacy. She’s fighting for the rights of the LGBT community one runway at a time.
“We’ll just be at a place where we don’t have to have an LGBT-inclusive fashion show, we just have a fashion show,” Foster said.
Foster wants everyone to feel comfortable enough in their skin that they can be comfortable with who other people are in their skin.