Paloma Elsesser is a woman who has lived her dream into reality.
“I’m shooting a Vogue cover as a chubby, short, mixed-raced woman who never imagined this would be her reality,” said Elsesser of the “surreal” moment. That day Annie Leibovitz photographed her for Vogue’s January 2021 issue.
It was a triumph, and it’s not just for Elsesser.
For a long time, the standard of beauty on Vogue’s cover has been on a limited scope: White, tall and, of course, thin.
When the magazine placed highly-esteemed Black media personality Oprah Winfrey, on its cover on October 1998, editor-in-chief Anna Wintour allegedly recommended that Winfrey lose 20 pounds ahead of the shoot.
And Vogue wasn’t the only one. Curvy and London-bord daughter of an African-American mother and a Swiss Chilean father, Elsesser won’t forget an event that happened in Paris that made her shed tears.
Then 22 years old in 2015, Elsesser came together with make-up artist Pat McGrath, who brought her first eyeshadow promotion.
One day, the model remained backstage at the Lanvin. As a self-proclaimed tomboy in Supreme, she had not attended a single Paris show before. And her first-time thrill vanished into thin air when she saw the cast: White and thin.
She is gorgeous, with warm brown eyes and an appealing smile. However, broken by the concept of her otherness, tears started to fall down her eyes.
“I’m not supposed to be here. I don’t look like anyone here,” she recounted. “Who am I kidding? I’m not a f—king model.”
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Things Changed for Elsesser
Now, things have changed.
Elsesser is among fashion’s most-coveted muses. Currently 30, she sashayed the runway for European luxury labels from Fendi to Chloe: Shows that matter to the industry like Lanvin.
Furthermore, she has appeared in massive advertising campaigns for Marc Jacobs, Coach, and H&M. Victoria’s Secret, once known for its limited beauty standards, has recruited the plus size model.
With society changing and fashion surfacing “from the dark ages,” demands for plus-size women are through the roof, according to Becca Thorpe, a Next Models agent. (Dark ages was when bigger models faced a huge obstacle for jobs and equal compensation.)
“Clients are paying equal or above what they’ve been paying for traditional models to get access to (bigger models,” added Treanna Lawrence, casting director at Cast Partner.
Plus-size models are those above a size 4 in high fashion and more than a size 12 in the general market. Now, they are essential in the business.
“Once agencies saw there’s a real route to success for a girl like Paloma, they started signing more,” said stylist Carlos Nazario.
“And when brands saw the engagement and attention they receive on the runway and in campaigns, they wanted a piece of the pie as well.”
However, the industry didn’t just give Elsesser’s journey to success to her. Instead, she paved the way for models like her, making the path for others.
“I think a lot of her modeling has been confronting the industry,” said DM Casting’s Samuel Ellis Scheinman.
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Photo: Fem Competitor
