Today is Dapper and Swag’s 3rd birthday! (Okay, it was actually the 9th but I forgot. Shh!) To celebrate, take 15% off on me. Use code HAPPYBDAY, valid now until May 1st. Thanks for all your support, everyone!
My name is Aaron Philip. I’m 17 years old, I live in the Bronx, and I’m about to be a senior in high school! I identify as a gender-nonconforming trans woman who uses she/her pronouns. I also have cerebral palsy and use a motorized wheelchair to get around. As of September 1, I’m also one of Elite New York City’s newest models, and am about to participate in my first season in New York.
I enter the fashion world with intentions of making the industry more diverse, inclusive, and accessible. I have never seen a physically disabled supermodel or a Black transfeminine model heralded, celebrated, or even working in the way other models are — and I hope to change that. This lack of representation and visibility in fashion has deeply affected me throughout my life, and has driven me to take matters into my own hands to carve a space and try to provide opportunity for members of my community in this field. And while this might sound inspiring to some, to me it’s simply a matter of showing the world something different, and opening people’s minds — especially in fashion, where there’s a fine line between art and consumerism.
As a person, I wear my identity on my sleeve. Coming into this industry as one of two models in wheelchairs signed to a major modeling agency (the other being my angel & good friend Jillian Mercado) while being Black and transfeminine is both very empowering and sort of terrifying. And like any other model, I have many aspirations. I dream of Miu Miu, Chanel, Dior, Calvin Klein, and Prada while I’m sleeping. I live vicariously through the shows of Helmut Lang, Versace, Eckhaus Latta, Balenciaga, and Givenchy. Fashion is important to me because it’s the ultimate form of conveying self-expression and toying with gender. The possibility of creating opportunities for disabled and gender-nonconforming people in high fashion is what excites me about being in this industry.
