Ontario model becomes 1st transgender person on Chanel Exclusive's catwalk at Paris Fashion Week

john dalton Dubois of Guelph, Ont., made account at the recent genus paris forge hebdomad when she became the first transgender model to walk the runway for Chanel Exclusive.

Dubois, 24, started modelling during the pandemic after dropping out of high school in Guelph, the southwestern Ontario city where she grew up.

"It's a lot of nerves up until I'm on the runway, but then the second production pushes you out onto the runway and you start walking, for me at least, speaking from experience … it's like stepping into a different character," she said. 

She described the experience as "a life-changing opportunity" for her modelling journey.

Dubois said she never thought modelling would be a feasible job and never really dove into it thinking it was an actual opportunity until she met her agent, Chantelle Nadeau, in Toronto. At the time, Dubois was working at a retirement home in Guelph.

"Somebody recommended me to her and [we] started working immediately," Dubois said, adding, "I quit my job and I was on the runway for Burberry a year and a half later."

Dubois said getting to this stage in her career has not been easy.

"I come from a humble background, I don't have a lot of financial handouts, so when you're beginning in modelling, it's a lot of proving yourself," she said.

"Some people definitely can get the golden ticket, but it's a lot of proving yourself. There was times in airports that I didn't have $5 to buy myself a coffee or a bite to eat in the morning.

"You know, you're asking for advancements from your agency, sometimes as small as, like, $65 at a time, just so that you can get on public metro."

Dubois said she's grateful for her "amazing team," who gave her "some money jobs between these higher-end, A-list jobs." 

Becoming the first trans person to walk the Chanel runway has meant a great deal to her. 

"I love when queer people get given their flowers in the fashion space specifically because so much of the fashion space is built upon queer knowledge, queer research, queer creativity, so that always feels great," she said. 

"I would love to be a trailblazer that just shows that trans people really want to be normal members of society, and in fact, when they are given the resources like I was so graciously given growing up in Canada, God bless Canada, trans people really can just exist and have normal fulfilling lives when there's not insane amounts of challenges placed in front of them."

The chair of Out on the Shelf — the Umbrella organization for Guelph Pride — said Dubois's achievement means a lot for transgender people.

"It may seem like a small thing, but even our participation in the mundane speaks to a growing acceptance of trans people within our society — something sorely needed in this hostile political climate. We certainly wish Dalton the best in her growing fashion career."

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