Milan Fashion Week: Brazilian Transgender Model To Appear On Catwalk

Brazilian model Valentina Sampiao has already made the world proud by being the first transgender model to appear on the cover of French “Vogue.” This time, she’s going to have an appearance at the Milan Fashion Week.

‘Valentina is Valentina,’ Milan Fashion Week

This isn’t the first time Valentina made a mark in the modeling industry, the 22-year old model has worked for names like ‘Gisela Franck’ and ‘Rchlo’ plus she’s appeared on the cover of the November issue of “Elle Brazil.”

The green-eyed brunette was in Milan to attend casting sessions hoping to get the chance to model and appear on the catwalk for world-famous fashion houses. Additionally, her dreams don’t stop there, Valentina also wishes to model for Italian icon Giorgio Armani.

The model tells AFP Milan that she is “proud” of being a role model for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community and that she wants to continue fighting for a better world, where transgender people are considered “normal” in the eyes of the people.

During the interview, Valentina said that she was tired of people of are non-heterosexual or cisgender being labeled as an anomaly. “Juan is Juan, Maria is Maria and Valentina is Valentina,” she added with a laugh.

Valentina On Being A Transgender Model, Continuous Battle

Valentina’s modeling career started out four years ago in Brazil, where she, later on, became a L’Oreal ambassador. She considers fame and fashion as something to help her gain opportunities to combat transgender prejudice.

She talks about how appearing on the cover of “Vogue” as “important because fashion is a means to stop people speaking about us with prejudice” she relayed.

Transgender refers to people who do not identify as the gender they were assigned at birth. Transexual, on the other hand, is an older term that describes people who have to seek to change or have changed their bodies permanently through medical operations.

More of Valentina

Before dropping out to attend fashion courses, Valentina was in Fortaleza, North Brazil studying architecture. She said “as a little boy, I felt like a little girl” and that she’s thankful for how her parents brought her up.

There were moments of discouragement for the model, like being rejected for an advertising campaign because the brand refused to use a transgender person.

“I felt very bad, I wanted to stop working,” she said. “But in the end, I realized that I liked this work and it did not stop me,” she added.

Now, Valentina, along with other Brazilian models, are in a group that fights violence against transsexuals that have both female secondary characteristics and male genitalia, otherwise known as shemales.

“The advice I can give them is to believe in themselves and not be discouraged by difficulties” she advised.

So grateful to you lovely @emmanuellealt and to these guys @mertalas @macpiggott for the amazing job❤?? #forbetterworld #porummundomelhor ?❤

A post shared by Valentina Sampaio (@valentts) on Feb 14, 2017 at 8:08am PST

Ooi??? #shooting #pic #selfie #biquini #body #model #modellife #vsstorm #valentinasampaio #valentts #morning #saopaulo #city #boasenergias #bomdia #brasil

A post shared by Valentina Sampaio (@valentts) on Dec 6, 2016 at 4:27am PST