Photo: Renell Medrano/Dazed and Confused MagazineZaya Wadejust hit a career milestone.The activist and rising style star, 16, whocame out as transgenderin 2020, has been making her mark on the fashion industry.Afterwalking in her first fashion show for Miu Miuat Milan Fashion Week in early March and landing a Puma campaign, Dwyane Wade’s daughter just added another accomplishment to her growing roster – her first-ever fashionmagazine cover forDAZED.Renell Medrano/Dazed and Confused MagazineIn the cover story, Wade detailed her ascent into the fashion world, being trans in the public eye, and what it’s like to be a role model in a time when trans lives are under attack.Zaya toldDAZEDthat her “relationship with fashion has really evolved over the years.“Being that her parents areDwyane WadeandGabrielle Union-Wade, she had a lot of inspiration to take from their personal styles that ultimately helped her find her own voice through clothing.Renell Medrano/Dazed and Confused Magazine"It started out as, ‘Oh, my parents are super fashionable, and I want to dress up and be as fashionable as them.’ But, as time has passed and I’ve become more integrated into the fashion world, it’s become a really important part of expressing myself and my identity. Whether I’mwearing a dress for winter formalor wearing a suit for a shoot, it’s just a way to level up my iconic-ness, I feel,” shetold the publication.For Zaya,“up-ing your iconic-ness” is all about seeing the beauty in yourself and representing that in the most authentic way possible, something that stepmom, Gabrielle, helped her harness.“The lesson has changed over time, but more recently, it’s that beauty is in yourself. It’s about being you and expressing yourself the way you want to. [Gabrielle Union-Wade] tries to teach me that beauty standards are arbitrary and that they don’t mean anything,” she says. “They don’t matter any more; what people thought was the standard is not. And just that being myself is the best technique out there.“Renell Medrano/Dazed and Confused MagazineHowever, being her most authentic, beautiful self while in the public eye – and while trans – comes with “some highs and some lows.““I mean, a lot of attention equals a lot more hate, a lot of transphobia, and [there is] a lot of pressure on me, but I’m also able to reach more people. The positives of having such an inclusive platform completely outweigh all of the negativity online, which my support system has enabled me to filter out,” Zaya shares. “It has allowed me to let in the positivity and distribute it to all of the trans people in the world who need a voice and give them a platform to get inspired to live with themselves without being afraid.“Renell Medrano/Dazed and Confused MagazineNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.And having a platform ultimately means that she is “a microphone,” a role she takes with pride and very seriously.“I am my own person and I have my own experiences, but for me, as a role model, I try to use my personal experience to broadcast the positives and also the negatives in life, because a lot of LGBTQ+ youth go unrecognized in every way,” she says. “I think I am here to share those experiences: to voice them, but also to enhance them. So the world can know, ‘We are here, we are queer, we are here to stay, and we aren’t going anywhere.'“Zaya hopes that her voice and platform can be a message to other trans youth that they are not alone.Affirming, “There are so many people out there. I wish I knew that as a kid because I felt so isolated, thinking there was no one else like me. And the percentage of trans adults versus trans children is such a wide difference.”
Photo: Renell Medrano/Dazed and Confused Magazine
Zaya Wadejust hit a career milestone.The activist and rising style star, 16, whocame out as transgenderin 2020, has been making her mark on the fashion industry.Afterwalking in her first fashion show for Miu Miuat Milan Fashion Week in early March and landing a Puma campaign, Dwyane Wade’s daughter just added another accomplishment to her growing roster – her first-ever fashionmagazine cover forDAZED.Renell Medrano/Dazed and Confused MagazineIn the cover story, Wade detailed her ascent into the fashion world, being trans in the public eye, and what it’s like to be a role model in a time when trans lives are under attack.Zaya toldDAZEDthat her “relationship with fashion has really evolved over the years.“Being that her parents areDwyane WadeandGabrielle Union-Wade, she had a lot of inspiration to take from their personal styles that ultimately helped her find her own voice through clothing.Renell Medrano/Dazed and Confused Magazine"It started out as, ‘Oh, my parents are super fashionable, and I want to dress up and be as fashionable as them.’ But, as time has passed and I’ve become more integrated into the fashion world, it’s become a really important part of expressing myself and my identity. Whether I’mwearing a dress for winter formalor wearing a suit for a shoot, it’s just a way to level up my iconic-ness, I feel,” shetold the publication.For Zaya,“up-ing your iconic-ness” is all about seeing the beauty in yourself and representing that in the most authentic way possible, something that stepmom, Gabrielle, helped her harness.“The lesson has changed over time, but more recently, it’s that beauty is in yourself. It’s about being you and expressing yourself the way you want to. [Gabrielle Union-Wade] tries to teach me that beauty standards are arbitrary and that they don’t mean anything,” she says. “They don’t matter any more; what people thought was the standard is not. And just that being myself is the best technique out there.“Renell Medrano/Dazed and Confused MagazineHowever, being her most authentic, beautiful self while in the public eye – and while trans – comes with “some highs and some lows.““I mean, a lot of attention equals a lot more hate, a lot of transphobia, and [there is] a lot of pressure on me, but I’m also able to reach more people. The positives of having such an inclusive platform completely outweigh all of the negativity online, which my support system has enabled me to filter out,” Zaya shares. “It has allowed me to let in the positivity and distribute it to all of the trans people in the world who need a voice and give them a platform to get inspired to live with themselves without being afraid.“Renell Medrano/Dazed and Confused MagazineNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.And having a platform ultimately means that she is “a microphone,” a role she takes with pride and very seriously.“I am my own person and I have my own experiences, but for me, as a role model, I try to use my personal experience to broadcast the positives and also the negatives in life, because a lot of LGBTQ+ youth go unrecognized in every way,” she says. “I think I am here to share those experiences: to voice them, but also to enhance them. So the world can know, ‘We are here, we are queer, we are here to stay, and we aren’t going anywhere.'“Zaya hopes that her voice and platform can be a message to other trans youth that they are not alone.Affirming, “There are so many people out there. I wish I knew that as a kid because I felt so isolated, thinking there was no one else like me. And the percentage of trans adults versus trans children is such a wide difference.”
Zaya Wadejust hit a career milestone.
The activist and rising style star, 16, whocame out as transgenderin 2020, has been making her mark on the fashion industry.
Afterwalking in her first fashion show for Miu Miuat Milan Fashion Week in early March and landing a Puma campaign, Dwyane Wade’s daughter just added another accomplishment to her growing roster – her first-ever fashionmagazine cover forDAZED.
Renell Medrano/Dazed and Confused Magazine
In the cover story, Wade detailed her ascent into the fashion world, being trans in the public eye, and what it’s like to be a role model in a time when trans lives are under attack.
Zaya toldDAZEDthat her “relationship with fashion has really evolved over the years.”
Being that her parents areDwyane WadeandGabrielle Union-Wade, she had a lot of inspiration to take from their personal styles that ultimately helped her find her own voice through clothing.
“It started out as, ‘Oh, my parents are super fashionable, and I want to dress up and be as fashionable as them.’ But, as time has passed and I’ve become more integrated into the fashion world, it’s become a really important part of expressing myself and my identity. Whether I’mwearing a dress for winter formalor wearing a suit for a shoot, it’s just a way to level up my iconic-ness, I feel,” shetold the publication.
For Zaya,“up-ing your iconic-ness” is all about seeing the beauty in yourself and representing that in the most authentic way possible, something that stepmom, Gabrielle, helped her harness.
“The lesson has changed over time, but more recently, it’s that beauty is in yourself. It’s about being you and expressing yourself the way you want to. [Gabrielle Union-Wade] tries to teach me that beauty standards are arbitrary and that they don’t mean anything,” she says. “They don’t matter any more; what people thought was the standard is not. And just that being myself is the best technique out there.”
However, being her most authentic, beautiful self while in the public eye – and while trans – comes with “some highs and some lows.”
“I mean, a lot of attention equals a lot more hate, a lot of transphobia, and [there is] a lot of pressure on me, but I’m also able to reach more people. The positives of having such an inclusive platform completely outweigh all of the negativity online, which my support system has enabled me to filter out,” Zaya shares. “It has allowed me to let in the positivity and distribute it to all of the trans people in the world who need a voice and give them a platform to get inspired to live with themselves without being afraid.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
And having a platform ultimately means that she is “a microphone,” a role she takes with pride and very seriously.
“I am my own person and I have my own experiences, but for me, as a role model, I try to use my personal experience to broadcast the positives and also the negatives in life, because a lot of LGBTQ+ youth go unrecognized in every way,” she says. “I think I am here to share those experiences: to voice them, but also to enhance them. So the world can know, ‘We are here, we are queer, we are here to stay, and we aren’t going anywhere.'”
Zaya hopes that her voice and platform can be a message to other trans youth that they are not alone.
Affirming, “There are so many people out there. I wish I knew that as a kid because I felt so isolated, thinking there was no one else like me. And the percentage of trans adults versus trans children is such a wide difference.”
source: people.com
