American model Alex Consani was named Model of the Year at the British Fashion Council’s Fashion Awards on Monday night, becoming the first openly transgender person to win the esteemed accolade.
Accepting the honor at London’s Royal Albert Hall, the 21-year-old used the opportunity to address the who’s who of the fashion industry about the groundbreaking nature of her win.
“I’m the first trans woman to win this award!” she exclaimed to the audience. “But I can’t accept this award without thanking those who came before me, specifically the Black trans women who really fought for the space I’m in today.” Consani said Dominique Jackson, Connie Fleming and Aaron Rose Philip were among those “who fought for the space that allowed me to flourish.”
Consani then thanked her parents before concluding: “Change is more than possible; it’s needed.”
She joined a long list of some of the modeling world’s biggest names to earn the annual award, including Kate Moss, Bella Hadid and Cara Delevingne.
Consani is no stranger to making history.
She is thought to be the youngest openly trans model to sign with a major modeling agency, having signed with IMG Models in 2019 at just 15 years old. And in October, she became one of the first openly trans models to walk in the iconic Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, along with Brazilian model Valentina Sampaio.
Consani, who is originally from Northern California, first rose to prominence for her witty videos on TikTok during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. She’s since amassed more than 3.9 million followers on the app and 1.5 million followers on Instagram.
Throughout her short but formidable career, Consani has walked in shows for some of the biggest luxury brands in the world, including Chanel, Alexander McQueen, Burberry and Jacquemus. In May, she appeared in the music video for pop sensation Charli XCX’s song “360,” off of her hit “Brat” album.
On Monday, she was wearing a strapless off-white mini dress interwoven with a distressed British flag that hung over her left shoulder and trailed behind her. The garment was made by the buzzy Turkish-British designer Dilara Findikoglu.
The other winners at this year’s Fashion Awards included Jonathan Anderson, the creative director for LVMH fashion house Loewe, for the Designer of the Year award and Tom Ford for the Outstanding Achievement Award.
