A very special eye candy

[reviews_and_ramblings]

Lea T., the star of Givenchy's autumn/winter ad campaign, recently opened up to several magazines and newspapers about being a transsexual supermodel, even posing nude in French Vogue "in the name of all my transsexual friends". The Guardian UK traced Lea's rise to the top, from her birth as Leandro in 1981 in Belo Horizonte Brazil to soccer hero Toninho Cerezo and a Catholic family to becoming Riccardo Tisci of Givenchy's muse.

 
Source: Vanity Fair Italy
Lea by Karel Losenicky
client: Vanity Fair Italy
source: style.it
published: June 2010

Riccardo Tisci’s longtime assistant & former fit model; the reticent Lea (formerly Leandro) breaks her silence in an exclusive interview for Italian Vanity Fair. The Brazilian who lived as a child in Italy and went to art school in Florence (hence the perfect Italian) bravely goes on the record about her experiences.

According to the Guardian a Rio gossip column contacted Cerezo and reported, "We got in touch with the former star but, irritated, he limited himself to saying that he had four children, one of them called Leandro...When asked if the boy had starred in the Givenchy campaign, Cerezo hung up the phone." However, Lea's brother Gustavo said, "It's Lea's success, not the family's. All I will say is that we are on her side and we support her." 

In the Vanity Fair interview, moreover, [Lea] said she "never spoke directly" to her father about undergoing the hormone treatment that will, eventually, give her the body of a woman. Conversation, she said, was limited to trivialities.

Lea has credited Tisci with her ability to be comfortable with herself. She remembered for French Vogue, "One night [Tisci] encouraged me to wear pumps to a party. We went shopping for 'drag queen' shoes and we bleached my eyebrows. It was a revelation."

ABC News reports that Lea is set to undergo a full sex change from male to female and is currently undergoing hormone replacement therapy. Lea told June's Italian Vanity Fair, "The choice is between being unhappy forever or trying to be happy." (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/03/lea-t-transsexual-model-t_n_669027.html)

Lea T lands on the cover of Lurve with a stunning black and white shot by Carlotta Manaigo. The couture dress and marble columns add to the feeling of classical drama, but Lea brings a presence all her own to the shoot. Clad in Givenchy (naturally) and styled by Maher Jridi, Lea looks phenomenal and the striking cover makes for another boundary breaking first. (http://models.com/feed/?p=14337)

 

Comments

[semioticwarrior.livejournal.com]

An incredibly beautiful person, no matter how you slice it.

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

I love that first shot since I can see both the male than the female and they are both beautiful.

[vashtan.livejournal.com]

Fantastic post, but should the tag be "man candy"?

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

No, but I don't have any other tag to recall it :-( I didn't want to let it without tag, otherwise I will not be able to find it again in months from now. I thought to give it a special tag, but then, when I reach the limit, I will delete the tag anyway. for that reason I didn't use the "man candy" title I usually use for this model posts. Good eyes you have for the tag, but please forgive me, it was only a technical reason.

[vorvolaka.livejournal.com]

I remember reading about Lea and thinking how awesome. And then being totally jealous of THAT HAIR. It's gorgeous! I wish my hair was like that.

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

I had hair like that when I was in college, only mine were dark red ;-) I still regret the decision to cut them.

[vorvolaka.livejournal.com]

I'm a good few inches short of the length but I have the red going on!

[ruth-sims.livejournal.com]

That level of total beauty should be illegal. It's not fair to the rest of us mere mortals.

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Yes, she is so beautiful that it's almost unreal, that type of beauty you are used to see in artwork, not in real world.

[yachay.livejournal.com]

Fantastic!

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Yes, she is.

[angelabenedetti.livejournal.com]

She's definitely gorgeous.

Her dad seems to have some issues, but major props to her brother for being so positive and supportive.

Angie

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

I think it's not easy for a father, more when it comes from a catholic culture. But at least it seems there are hope and she has the support of part of her family, that is good.