Maddie and Margo Whitley have been on a journey. From growing up in a Catholic community in Texas to modelling in New York, Paris and London, and also entering the LGBTQIA+ community as trans twins.
Coming out within a year of each other – Maddie first, then Margo – the twins have modelled for Vivienne Westwood, Calvin Klein and Marc Jacobs and are driving the erasure of gendered fashion, making way for more fluidity, acceptance and playfulness in the modelling world.
They sat down with GLAMOUR for a chat about what empowers them, what must be done to support the trans community and their plans to take the fashion world by storm.
It's a love letter to Black British music.
I’d love for us to talk first about both of your journey – what were your experiences like growing up, coming to terms with being trans?
Maddie: Margo and I were born in Houston, Texas. We went to an all boys Catholic private high school, until we both realised that we wanted to transition, come out and try something new with our lives. So we moved to New York the day after graduation. I started modelling from there and the rest is history.
Margo: I accidentally got scouted by stepping into Maddie's agency too many times because when we moved to New York, I didn't have any friends. I was a baby.
Would you say you have twin intuition when it comes to your trans identities?
Maddie: So I came out [as trans] before Margo. There was kind of an intuition. When I was coming out to her, I think the very next thing I said after ‘I'm trans’ was ‘do you feel this way as well?’ And she was like, ‘no’, and I guess she just needed to process it on her own terms and do it her own way, not when I wanted to come out. So she did it on her own vibe, but I kind of had a feeling.
Your model agency PRM is known for its progressive focus on diversity and ethics – why this is important to you both and the work you’re doing?
Margo: Having an inclusive and accepting board is really important for us. We want a team that knows that we're different and celebrates it rather than hides it. It's really important to us to not just be marketed as like, ‘well, you guys pass’. It's important that they recognise that we are different and also include us in the narrative of being trans models.
Maddie: Yeah, it's also been important for us to be able to spread our story, which is the whole purpose of why we’re modelling in the first place.
You’ve said before that “gendered fashion is on its way out” – tell me about this, what you’ve seen, why this is a liberating and powerful thing?
Maddie: Margo and I originally loved doing men's shows, and we were finding that more women were doing men's shows and more men started going into the women's shows and stuff. And then with this new wave of gender inclusivity with trans models, non-binary models, gender fluid models, everything started blurring together and mixing and matching. We just noticed that it was always a lot cooler and a lot more fun if we did it that way and everybody had a better time.
Margo: It's been really cool to be a part of it. I wouldn't say that we're fronting it or anything, but to almost be a part of a new and inclusive, ever-evolving type of gendered fashion erasure… We're blurring the lines a lot, and it’s been really fun, especially as trans models. Because we showed that there's no such thing as like, man or woman. It's just we’re wearing the clothes, and we feel good.
How does the visibility of trans models like yourself on the catwalks affect representation in that world?
Margo: I think that the more trans women that are on the runway, the better TBH – it’s important to see trans representation, for younger trans people to think ‘wow, this idea of what's beautiful and what's in can include me’. It's been really empowering and very powerful to get messages from trans people who have followed fashion and see our story and they're like, ‘Wow, you make me feel seen, you make me feel beautiful. You've inspired me and I want to do the same. I want to come out’. It's been amazing.
You’re both big on TikTok – is there a sense of community there?
Margo: Yes, and I would say growing a community on TikTok was really important, and definitely helped establish ourselves as good trans people, pushing the narrative forward – like a role model, almost.
What are your thoughts about GLAMOUR's Logan Brown cover and what it means for trans representation? And more than that, visibility of pregnant trans men?
Maddie: I think it’s a really impactful cover. Obviously, it's not something we're gonna see every day. It's not something that's going to be typically normalised, but it can be cool to be educated on and learn about. I think it's really important for everybody to see that this is a possibility for people – because human beings are fluid and cool and do amazing things like this.
Margo: More trans people on more covers!
Instagram content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
GLAMOUR had to turn comments off on the cover post – what have your experiences been with anti-trans abuse or comments on social media, how have you handled that?
Maddie: Personally, I tend to focus on the positive comments, which sounds so cheesy. There are so many people who are positively impacted by things that we post and things that we do online, that I do not need to look at the one negative comment that’s like, ‘you’re a man’. Because I know I'm not, my community knows I'm not, my family knows I'm not.
Margo: We’ve also found a good support system, and have learned to not be so impacted by it, which is great, but easier said than done of course.
How have you both taken care of your mental health during this journey?
Maddie: It’s so important, especially in fashion, during fashion week, we have a lot of trans model friends and I find that a lot of us lean on each other for support. Something that can be really stressful or rocky, it's really nice to have a community and somebody who can be like, ‘I see you, I understand what you're going through. Let me support you.’
Margo: I lean on my support system, but also taking time for yourself to reset, feel good about yourself and affirm yourself has really been the thing protecting my inner peace. I think a combo of the two – having a support system, but also having a strong sense of self and really honing and meditating on it, helps protect the inner peace.
There’s still so much hate and discrimination towards the trans community, what key things need to change or be understood for things to improve?
Maddie: Obviously some things need to be educated and definitely need to change. I mean, we're sat here in the States, where we've seen those laws make things more and more dangerous for trans people to exist and to thrive and to flourish and to be themselves – especially trans kids. Now more than ever, it's such a dangerous and scary time, but with education, and hopefully some more exposure and the knowledge of transness…
Things can get better. What advice do you have for trans people who are feeling disempowered?
Margo: Number one advice coming from the sister who came out a year later – take your time. It's such a personal process. There's no need to rush anything. Really, accept yourself, feel it out. Take your time, there's no rush. The second thing I will say is, if it's not safe to come out, this sucks. It's so hard to tell a kid ‘don't come out’, especially in like Florida and s**t like that, where awful, awful stuff can happen.
Yeah, make sure you're safe. Make sure you have a safe surrounding community. I would say just believe in yourself. If this is what you know you want, go for it. You'll never regret it.
How can we support the trans community?
Maddie: Don't stay silent. Especially in public, if somebody's saying something, speak up. It's really important to other trans people to know that this person is gonna stand with me and my message. While staying silent isn’t a hurtful thing to do, I guess, it's definitely not empowering or providing me with confidence in your trans defence. So speak up, support and protect your trans friends and family.
Margo: We want trans kids to feel safe, comfortable and supported coming out. We want free medicine, oh my god, if you want to help and you want to do more than just gender your friends correctly, there's a million GoFundMe pages for girls who can't get access to meds or for boys who don't have surgery funds. If you want to speak up in your everyday life and educate people on trans people, who we are, what the vibe is, even something as small as saying ‘I love trans people’, it doesn't have to be anything major. Doing nothing is not the correct option.
Maddie: Yes, even just voting. Vote correctly, b***h.
What’s next for you guys?
Maddie: I’d definitely like to be on the cover of a magazine with my sister. We are working towards it – hopefully it happens.
Margo: I would say my goal is to get famous enough that I can inspire tonnes of people to come out, and rich enough to be able to help donate and help out the trans community.
Maddie: My god, that was beautiful – are you kidding? That makes my answer look so cheap. I'm also happy to make a cameo in a movie, should anybody need me, call my agent.
Get your calls in fast.
