Aaron Philip started her modelling career at 16 years old, when she was still a high school junior. In two short years, she became the first black, transgender, wheelchair-using model to be signed by Elite Model Management, joining their books in September last year and contributing to a revolutionarily shift in the industry.
An advocate for LGBTQ+ and disability rights, Philip has set her sights on the runways of Gucci, Prada and Dior, asking why these spaces shouldn’t be inclusive and representative of all bodies. “My goal is normalising the presence of disabled people, women/femmes who are trans and gender nonconforming trans people,” she says. “So that we can simply work, exist and be authentically valued in the high fashion industry and the world itself as a whole.”
Born in Antigua and Barbuda and now living in the Bronx, Philip’s burgeoning career is fashion history in the making: “My future plans are to progress in my modelling while celebrating my sense of self and carving a space for my communities in the fashion world,” she concludes.
Hannah Tindle