Victoria’s Secret’s first trans model

"It's a great victory for all of us," says Brazil's Valentina Sampaio, who grew up in a fishing village in the state of Ceará and today, at 22, "breaks down barriers" in the fashion world.

The first trans model of the Victoria Secret fashion house has a presence in the catalog of Pink, the youth firm of the US lingerie company, is another step in its struggle for diversity, according to a telephone interview with Efe.

"I am raising the flag of diversity," says the young woman, who these days meets a frantic work schedule in her home country.
His new work with Victoria’s Secret now marks a before and after in fashion and comes after the controversial words of the marketing director of the lingerie firm, Ed Rezek, about the inclusion of gender in their parades.

When questioned a few months ago for the reasons why he did not hire large or trans models, Rezek said: “And why not? Because the show is a fantasy. ”

Sampaio was in charge of making the announcement as a new image of Pink and he did it through his social networks, where he published an image in bathrobe, carried out in the racks of a photo session, and with the legend “Backstage click @vspink” .

“It's a conquest, a breakthrough for us trans. It is a more open door and I feel very honored, ”explains Efe Sampaio, who claims to have received numerous samples of love.

Always between airports, the Brazilian currently lives in New York, one of the mecca of fashion worldwide, and dreams of being able to work more and more, “in a fairer world, in which everyone has the same opportunities” .

"It is a message of optimism, respect and love for the next," he says.