Inside the First New York Transgender Modeling Agency

Peche Di, a Thai beauty queen who studied at New York University, spent five years booking occasional modeling gigs and looking for an agency to represent her. “They didn’t understand me,” she says, “so I struggled to find work.” Finally she decided to do something about the lack of opportunities for her and other transgender models. The 26-year-old walked into the county clerk’s office downtown in Manhattan and filed the paperwork for Trans Models, creating New York City’s first transgender modeling agency—and one of only three in the country, and perhaps the world.

Barney’s New York: Spring Fashions with a Twist

Shot by iconic photographer Bruce Weber in New York City, seventeen extraordinary men and women, transgender individuals with diverse experiences and unique personal stories, are the faces of Barneys New York’s Spring 2014 fashions campaign. Many were photographed and filmed surrounded by family, friends, and loved ones. By depicting these human connections, Weber was able to represent both the struggles and triumphs a trans person may face in relation to their gender identity. Barneys New York is proud to support the transgender community by telling a few of their incredible stories.