The New Civil Rights Movement reports that & Other Stories, a clothing and accessory retailer under H&M, recently launched an advertising campaign that features five transgender people from the fashion world: Valentijn de Hugh (model), Hari Nef (model), Amos Mac (a photographer and editor of trans magazine Original Plumbing), Love Bailey (stylist), and Nina Poon (makeup artist.) In the ad, they each interact with one another and talk about gender in the world of fashion.
At the beginning of the film, de Hugh says:
“I think it’s so weird that when we are born the first thing that we are, even before we have a name, or an identity, we are either male or female, before you even know anything about the person who was just born. And I think, you know, being born male or being born female decides so much about who you are allowed to be in life, and I just don’t want to live under those constraints, you know. I want to break free from those.”
In a statement, Sara Hildén Bengtson, Creative Director for & Other Stories, discussed the company’s decision to hire transgender talent for the shoot:
“The fashion world is embracing transgender models and we think that’s great. But we couldn’t help to ask ourselves how the traditional fashion gaze can change if we keep the same normative crew behind the camera. So we invited five amazing creatives, all transgender, to make our latest story.”
Watch the ad:
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