Non-Binary Model Avie Acosta Is the Next Face of High Fashion

Model Avie Acosta had been in New York City only a few weeks before she caught the eyes of PAPERmagazine and Wilhelmina models. At 19, Acosta identifies as gender non-conforming: she began a male to female transition, taking daily estrogen hormones, before deciding to go on hiatus and enjoy the current space she's occupying.

Acosta told PAPER, "I really just identify as a person. I mean yeah, at the end of the day I'm a girl, but any label is a restriction...since moving I've given myself space to exist, to breathe, and to just be me."

Previously to getting signed, Acosta had been living in Oklahoma, working full time.

"I pretty much woke up one day and was like, you know what? I'm gonna move in three weeks. I worked sixty to seventy hours at work for each of the next three weeks, because I had no money saved. I booked a flight, scrambled to find housing, which is a nightmare of its own, and told my job, family and friends. Then the day came and I pretty much hopped off the plane and went to Thotlandia."

It was in the city's party scene, at a Marc Jacobs event, that Acosta was discovered. She's now the only transgender girl on Wilhelmina's men's board -- other trans women, such as Andreja Pejic and Hari Nef, are usually signed to women's boards. Acosta has also begun hosting New York parties and is beginning to DJ.

Keep your eyes peeled for Avie's face in major campaigns in the coming months.

Read the full interview at PaperMag.com

Photography by Kat Irlin. Styling by Kevin Breen (Courtesy of Paper)