We at Talent Management encourage model diversity of all varieties, whether that be size, race, age or sex.

So when Givenchy Designer Ricardo Tisci cast transgender model Lea T in the Givenchy Fall ad campaign, we applauded him.

Since then, Lea T, who was the designer’s long-time personal assistant, has appeared across fashion magazines and ad campaigns, most notably appearing in a nude shoot for French Vogue.

But with such a feminine and aristocratic look, not everyone would notice Lea T’s trans-status, so what made her open up and reveal all to the public?

Well, the Italian model has recently exposed all in an interview with the New York Times.

Apparently, when Tisci asked Lea T to star in the ads, she agreed only on the condition of being open about being transgender.

Lea T told the New York Times: “[Tisci] saw that my transitioning process was hard, how prejudiced people are and how I was suffering. He wanted to make me happy to have a nice picture of me.

“When you are a transsexual, you look for your future, and you can’t see it,” she said.

“I thought this would be a nice message for another tranny: ‘Look, we can be the same as other girls and boys.’ It’s small, but it makes you feel like you have a little chance.

“Maybe a transsexual will open a magazine and think: ‘That’s cool. We can be whatever we want.’ That’s why I did the Givenchy campaign.”

As always we at Talent Management love to read about models using their influence for good, but when you consider the emotional and physical difficulties of dealing with gender transition, we think Lea T deserves an extra special mention.