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Now Casting: Avie Acosta
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Nineteen-year-old, transgender model Avie Acosta is all about forging her own path in the fashion industry. “I have to stop myself from looking up to people,” she says. “It’s tempting to want to emulate someone’s career, but at the end of the day, it’s all on you.” Sure, the Oklahoma-born model names Chloë Sevigny and Hari Nef as “icons,” but it’s exactly Acosta’s incisive disposition that has landed her a contract with Wilhelmina Models with only two fashion weeks under her belt—signed just one week before we spoke and several weeks after her official move to New York City.
It’s also why she eagerly tells me, “I’m a firm believer that when you speak something out into the universe, it often does happen and falls into place.” Acosta admits that she’s still hesitant about modeling. Although, with photographers like Ethan James Green, trans fashion designer Gogo Graham, and LA-based clothing brand Rowan singing her praises, we have one piece of advice: keep an eye out for the rookie model. You can bet Acosta is destined for greatness.
Here, Acosta shares how a small town girl landed herself in the modeling big leagues, why ‘gender’ isn’t real, and where she thinks the transgender movement is headed:
What is your first memory of fashion?
“Growing up, people always told me I should model, and I used to say, ‘Okay, but is it sustaining? Is it fulfilling?’ I guess to some extent it was always something that I thought I could do in the sense that despite what anyone says—whether it’s good or bad—you know what you could become and where you have your potential. I was like, ‘Yeah, I could do that.’ Whether or not it would actually happen was a whole different story. It’s cool to get to a point where it’s actually happening now.”
What was it like growing up in Oklahoma?
“I’m from Edmond, and when you drive into the town, the slogan says, ‘A great place to grow.’ I’d say it’s pretty true. It’s like a little bubble. Not much happens, but it’s really cute, easy and relaxed. There’s tons of space.”
Did you move to New York City specifically to model?
“Modeling served as an introduction but knowing about the opportunities available here in general—knowing that bigger things are out in the world—motivated me to make those things happen. Actually, my first time in New York was for fashion week last year. I came for fashion week this past February, too. I got home and told myself, ‘It’s time to move.’
In Oklahoma, everyone is concerned with what people are doing because it’s less populated and you’re just more aware of the people around you, but New York is very anonymous. People are concerned with themselves. They’re in their own world—that’s what I love about the city.”
How do you keep a positive outlook on an industry that can be extremely difficult to navigate and that can involve rejection, especially within modeling?
“Fashion is supposed to be fun and exciting and just having people consider me for something is fulfilling. Of course, I want to book all the jobs that come my way, but there are only so many jobs for so many people so I don’t usually get caught up in the rejection. I want fashion to stay fun for what it is.”
Is there anyone you admire?
“Make-up artist Jeffree Star is incredible. He never stopped believing in himself. He never stopped being himself, and he never stopped being utterly real and transparent. Aside from the Kardashians, he’s the royalty of our generation. Watch his video documenting his trip to Hawaii, and try to tell me that he isn’t redefining the modern relationship. He is so invested in his work, and it shows. He is challenging our entire foundation of what we were brought up to believe in.”
What do you like to do for fun when you’re not modeling?
“Sit in the sauna at Equinox. Babysit three dogs at a time. Get goat cheese pierogies from Veselka in the East Village. Eat pints of Talenti gelato. Listen to a song on repeat for a whole day. Watch reality TV.”
What do you like about reality TV?
“Reality TV is honestly going to become one of the most important aspects for future generations. I watch mostly Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and the Kardashians. I was also just introduced to this fictional show based on behind-the-scenes of what happens with reality television shows called UnReal, and it adds this whole new layer. It’s less about the shows in particular and more about what they embody from history. I love tracing the storylines and caricatures of people back to the stories that have been told since the beginning of time. History always repeats itself.”
Do you feel comfortable speaking about your transition?
“It was fun, exciting, scary, affirming and also torturous. There’s no way to be a girl, and there’s no way to be a boy. ‘Gender’ isn’t real. It sucks that there are real institutions and lines of thinking that have manifested ‘gender’ into something that ends in real life consequences and violence just for presenting yourself a certain way with a body that we have been told is our own.”
The transgender movement has been in the eyes of the media so much recently, especially with Caitlyn Jenner announcing her upcoming nude spread for Sports Illustrated.
Where do you think the movement is headed?
“I’m optimistic for the future. At the very least, the movement is getting press and making it accessible to young people. We’re the ones that will do the work and hopefully see the change. It will take hard work, but mostly, it will take the people in power who are making the rules to step up. It doesn’t mean that we should do nothing. It just means that maybe we should stop worrying about changing people with established opinions and focus on the kids. Let’s make sure they know what’s up.”
How do you think the transgender movement is viewed within the fashion industry specifically?
“I think it has become something that gets people riled up and creates traffic on websites and magazines. Aren’t we tired of reading articles that are all the same? We’re giving a voice to a few industry-approved people and chalking it up as progress. We aren’t in a position to be building things up because the problem is the foundation. Our internalized views are the problem so first we need to start tearing that shit down.”
What do you hope to be doing in five to ten years?
“I’m still in a phase where everything excites me in fashion, and I’ve always had these fleeting desires with modeling so I’m not sure when I’ll get to the point where I don’t want to be doing this. I always want to be doing random things that fulfill me in different ways. I just hope to be achieving mythical status and becoming a pillar.”
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createdAt:Tue, 13 Jun 2017 19:13:10 +0000
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