Benn98
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Paloma Elsesser
United States, Chile, Switzerland
In the ongoing conversation around representation on the runway, Elsesser has emerged as a trailblazing agent for change, a vocal advocate of inclusivity who has spoken candidly about her experiences as one of the only curve models of color in the world of high fashion. “Growing up, I never envisioned a place for myself in fashion—even in the curve industry, I always felt like either my proportions were wrong or I didn’t fall into a prescribed Latina identity,” says Elsesser, 27, who was born to a Chilean-Swiss father and an African-American mother. “The power in me doing this is that I get to make space for the next person.” Five years ago, makeup artist Pat McGrath came across Elsesser’s Instagram profile and swiftly booked her—at the time, she was studying literature and psychology at Manhattan’s New School—to front the launch campaign of McGrath’s namesake makeup line, almost instantly catapulting her into a global spotlight. She has since become emblematic of a new class of like-minded creatives, including photographer Tyler Mitchell, stylist Carlos Nazario, and designers Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta, who are shaking up the fashion system from the inside out. “It feels like there’s a whole new guard of image-makers,” says Elsesser. “Yes, fashion is in the business of beauty and fantasy—but now we are able to rewrite what that fantasy looks like.”