Elio Berenett, the model who challenges convention: People didn't know how to treat me. I told them: I don't care, I'm up for anything'

"Blonde hair, five feet 10 inches, and a size 41 shoe (a U.S. size 8.5). Model Elio Berenett's profile was always a mystery to casting agents. It included all the necessary information, yet every time he met with them, he found himself in the same situation. I remember an afterparty where everyone approached [the agents], worried because they didn't know how to treat me. I just told them, I don't care, I'm up for anything.'"

"At nine years old, he began working as a female model, underwent his transition as a teenager, and 10 years later made his big debut with Louis Vuitton in Paris. The collection was feminine, but he was a trans man. Now 22, he no longer has any doubts: he approaches a fashion show in heels with the same determination as a menswear shoot like the one he did for EL PAIS."

Elio Berenett is a Swedish model with blonde hair, five feet 10 inches height, and a size 41 shoe who began working as a female model at nine. He transitioned as a teenager and debuted with Louis Vuitton in Paris ten years later, appearing in a feminine collection while identifying as a trans man. At 22, he approaches heels and menswear shoots with equal determination. Casting agents were initially confused about how to categorize him, and his refusal to wear certain feminine items, especially high heels, cost him jobs and opportunities. He learned to respect himself and to separate personal limits from aesthetic preferences.

Read at english.elpais.com