COACH s/s 2018

A post shared by Theodora Quinlivan (@teddy_quinlivan) on Sep 12, 2017 at 3:37pm PDT

Teddy Quinlivan has been steadily conquering the fashion industry, appearing in Vogue and InStyle, and modeling for iconic names like Coach, Oscar de la Renta and Marc Jacobs. Now, Quinlivan has come out as transgender in an interview with CNN.

The 23-year-old revealed she transitioned at age 16. She chose not to disclose her identity to model agencies and brands because she was able to pass as cis-gender. However, she felt it was time to open up to the world.

“I’ve decided to reveal my trans identity because of the political climate in the world right now — particularly in the United States,” Quinlivan told CNN. “We made an amazing progression under the Obama administration, and since the new administration took office there’s been a kind of backlash.”

“There’s been violence against transgender people — particularly transgender women of color — since before I even knew what transgender was. I just felt a great sense of urgency. I’m very fortunate to be in (a) position (that) I never really thought I would be. It’s really important to take advantage of a time like this,” she adds.

Quinlivan doesn’t mind being associated with the word transgender if it helps brings awareness but says, “I look forward to the day when it doesn’t matter.”

She hopes visibility will help the transgender community become more accepted in society.

“I think one of the ways we can help people in the trans community is to give them a platform,” Quinlivan says. “And I think the fashion industry plays a very crucial role in that. The fashion industry dictates what’s in fashion, what’s cool, what’s acceptable. It’s not just about who’s walking fashion shows … it’s about who’s on every newsstand in the country. The transgender community needs more visibility. And with more visibility will come more acceptance.”

The model has already received support from designer Marc Jacobs for opening up.

“I respect, admire and support Teddy’s decision to come out as transgender. Now more than ever it is vital that we pledge our allegiance to the LGBT community and use our voices to encourage and inspire acceptance, equality, understanding and love,” Jacobs wrote in an email to CNN.

She joins the likes of other visible transgender models such as Hari Nef, Andreja Pejić and Casil McArthur.