{"id":127450,"date":"2019-12-03T12:15:39","date_gmt":"2019-12-03T17:15:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/?p=127450"},"modified":"2023-03-18T18:36:39","modified_gmt":"2023-03-18T22:36:39","slug":"aaron-philip-on-breaking-fashions-accessibility-ceiling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/?p=127450","title":{"rendered":"Aaron Rose Philip on Breaking Fashion’s Accessibility Ceiling"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nDress – Kalmanovich<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n

Aaron Rose Philip<\/a> is a force to be reckoned with. At just 18 years old, the Bronx-based, Antiguan-American model has already scored high-profile features with the likes of W, i-D, Sephora, Out Magazine and more. She landed her first major magazine cover with Paper in June, with the interview handled by none other than Naomi Campbell<\/a> herself. And while Philip is monumentally the first black, transgender and disabled model to sign with a major agency, at the end of the day she just wants to be seen for her artistry as she embarks on her path like anyone else. \u201cI don’t think people understand, I genuinely adore fashion. It’s my world,\u201d she said. \u201cI want that feeling for everybody who has been excluded out of fashion. To be able to live their best life and reap the fruits of hard work.\u201d Shot by photographer JD Barnes<\/a>, we spoke to the rising star about breaking barriers in modeling, fighting misconceptions on her gender, and fashion’s accessibility problem.<\/p>\n

Photographer – JD Barnes<\/a> for Models.com
\nStylist – Roderick Hawthorne<\/a>
\nHair – Ro Morgan<\/a> | Makeup – Jaleesa Jaikaran<\/a>
\nNails – Tahsiyn Harley<\/a>
\nEditor – Irene Ojo-Felix<\/a> | Interview – Nia Groce<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"
\nDress – Kalmanovich<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n

How did you get your start in modeling? <\/strong>
\nI started my career in my junior year of high school. I freelanced for a little less than a year and I just remember devoting so much time into establishing connections and putting myself out there. I\u2019d spend nights online taking digitals and sending them to agencies, telling my story, telling them why I wanted them to sign me. Just keeping really true to myself and staying consistent with what I wanted. <\/p>\n

How did you get the courage to put yourself out there or was there never any fear?<\/strong>
\nI don\u2019t have fear because I never saw myself as different from any other teenager or woman. So why should that stop me from doing what anyone else does? The only reason I\u2019m scared is because society doesn’t consider me so I never saw myself there yet. When you’re trying to infiltrate something that wasn\u2019t made for you, you have to make an adjustment to show people that you are just as business-like, marketable and gorgeous as any other model or talent. <\/p>\n

What has been one of your biggest career moments?<\/strong>
\nThe Paper magazine cover really sold me. That was my first major cover and the fact that Naomi interviewed me \u2014 it’s hard to talk about it sometimes because it’s like, \u2018how did it happen?\u2019 I’m constantly grateful for anyone involved in making these things happen – it’s what I want for the industry and what I want for myself. <\/p>\n

\"\"
\nDress and shoes – Tibi<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n

What have been your biggest challenges in the industry? <\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s having people see me for myself. I\u2019m finally in a place where people do because I\u2019ve been so vocal about it, but when I was freelancing it was tough. People make a lot of misconceptions about you, that you can’t safeguard or block because you don\u2019t have the control. The press does. They called me things like nonbinary and were really suggestive of my identity versus seeing me as a person. They used to call me \u201cAaron Phillips, the Black trans model\u201d instead of calling me a model. <\/p>\n

And I had to let people know, that\u2019s not me. What I am is a teenage girl from the Bronx and Antigua who\u2019s in a wheelchair and who\u2019s just doing her job. It doesn’t have to be a matter of labels or boxes. And I think that when doing that, it sounds like you’re doing something good but you’re really just isolating people more. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s been a push for inclusivity in the industry, but is there still work to do behind the scenes, especially when it comes to accessibility? <\/strong>
\nAccessibility affects my entire life and is a huge problem in fashion. It\u2019s needed more than anything at all. I’ve been privileged to not have the experience on set of feeling uncomfortable because of my disability, but when it comes to my goals such as doing runway and certain jobs, it feels impossible. It’s only this year that I had castings for the runway, and I had options for things and I didn\u2019t get them because [a lack of] accessibility. It’s just a matter of brands taking a step forward to actually do accessibility rather than talk about it. <\/p>\n

What is your dream job?<\/strong>
\nI have so many. My absolute dream is to do either a Marc Jacobs exclusive runway debut or Prada debut. And for a campaign, Marc Jacobs, Prada, Versace. I\u2019d also love to do Another Magazine. I know it sounds insane but when I think about it I have so many amazing friends doing jobs because they\u2019re themselves and the only thing stopping me is my wheelchair. <\/p>\n

\"\"
\nBlazer – Tibi<\/a> | Shirt – Kalmanovich<\/a> | Belt – Bronx & Banco<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 18-year-old model is already checking big dreams off of her list<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":436,"featured_media":127599,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10414,16,13940],"tags":[12211,12985,10448,12406,12403,13579,12404,12405,10374],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127450"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/436"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=127450"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":140439,"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127450\/revisions\/140439"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/127599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=127450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=127450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=127450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}