The Brooklyn-born model on gendered clothing, New York, and working with Craig McDean.
It’s a Friday when I meet Theron Negri in Bedford-Stuyvestant’s Herbert Von King Park. The air is finally clear after two days of sitting indoors, damp bath towels along the cracks of loose windows to stop the orange poison air from seeping into the refuge of our small apartments. As we sit at one of the chess board benches, I’m thankful for the sun rays on my face after days indoors, and that 17-year-old Negri is sitting in front of me, her face clear as day in the soft afternoon light.
Born and raised in Bedford-Stuyvestant, Brooklyn, NY, Negri ’s energy is what I can only describe as effortless and off-duty, dressed in a baby blue tee, delicate bronze chain, thick black belt, loose denim pants and a pair of chunky boots. And while Negri and I are meeting to discuss her work as a model in Mission’s shoot with renowned photographer Craig McDean, she doesn’t call herself a “model.”
I ask why, aware of coveted past gigs like walking in New York Fashion Week for Coach and editorial spreads in V Magazine, to which she replies: “Because of my lack of experience and the way I don’t pursue it.” Rather, she lets the jobs find her when they can, whether it’s through her agency, getting approached on the street, or connecting with local photographers via Instagram DM.
“I’ve never thought of any other way to do it. I don’t really have a goal with this,” Negri explains. She’s not looking to carve out a career in the industry, but rather, take what comes to her and continue with life—like graduating high school—in the process. “I like playing dress up. And people love dressing me up,” she says. It’s as simple as that.
Negri describes the shoot with McDean as “open and welcoming,” which is not always the case when walking onto set as a trans woman in a new creative space. “Everybody else was queer and I felt very supported,” Negri says. “It was peaceful. One of the most relaxing shoots I’ve done to date,” pulling a pack of gum out of her pocket and offering me a piece. The park is becoming more crowded the longer we speak, the steps of surrounding brownstone stoops filled by New Yorkers, cautious of the chance opportunity to exist outdoors.
Featuring queer models from around the world, the Mission shoot explored gender deconstruction in fashion and beyond—a concept with which Negri is uniquely familiar as a person who enjoys playing with both traditional “women’s clothing” and menswear. When she first transitioned Negri dealt with internal conflict over her outward presentation, a feeling she says is common for many trans people at the beginning of their self-expression journey.
“It’s the difficult choice of saying ‘I identify this way,’ and knowing I can portray myself a certain way so it would be easier for society to acknowledge me the way I want to be acknowledged. For a lot of trans people, that is going the most hyper feminine or hyper masculine route. That’s a trap a lot of us fall into because of societal pressures,” Negri explains. But she quickly understood that she wanted to preserve the right to play with masculine looks, realizing that she “didn’t really care about what they want me to look like.”
“If I like men’s clothing, I’m going to wear the men’s clothing, and if I like women’s clothing, I’m going to wear the women’s clothing. At the end of the day, it’s just a section in the store.
“There is definitely something to be said for the expectation of trans people to be hyper feminine or hyper masculine to prove to society that they really want it. But if I like men’s clothing, I’m going to wear the men’s clothing, and if I like women’s clothing, I’m going to wear the women’s clothing. At the end of the day, it’s just a section in the store. If I think it’s going to look good on me, I’m gonna wear it,” she explains.
As Negri speaks, she has to pause every so often to make room for the city around us, our conversation punctuated by blaring sirens or little kids pushing past our table on colorful plastic scooters. The city is going back to normal. It feels like the start of another beautiful day. I ask Negri what it was like to be born and raised here, just ten minutes away from this very park.
“New York has been an incredible place to grow up,” she says. “I can’t picture what kind of person I would have been if I didn’t grow up here. It gives you this wonderful ability to adapt, growing up amongst literally everyone and everything.” Now that she’s out of high school and looking for work, I ask if there’s anywhere else in the world she might want to live.
“I can’t picture what kind of person I would have been if I didn’t grow up here. It gives you this wonderful ability to adapt, growing up amongst literally everyone and everything.”
“Most New Yorkers don’t want to live anywhere but New York, because New York is a very specific place, and you get very used to its specific routines. It’s its own way of life, which makes it hard to feel comfortable leaving. I don’t want to be here forever. But I just can’t figure out where else I’d want to go,” she says.
Negri and I part ways once our interview is over. It’s a gorgeous Brooklyn afternoon and I don’t want to keep her from whatever plans she might have. I wish her well and we exit at opposite ends of the park, her toward the little league fields and me down the populated Tompkins Avenue.
As I walk, I’m stuck on one of the last things she said to me before we wrapped. Knowing that some people get jittery when speaking with a journalist, I asked if she had any reservations or questions about the piece. “I trust your process. I’m a ‘whatever will be, will be’ kind of person,” Negri says.
Images taken from the current issue, Identity, courtesy of Craig McDean. Theron left image: Top stitched denim set and leather belt and earrings all by Alexander McQueen. Right Image: Striped knitted bodysuit with oversized belt and trousers all by Emporio Armani.
Styling: Gro Curtis. Hair: Orlando Pita at Home Agency. Makeup: Kiki Gifford at Streeters. Manicure: Elina Ogawa at Bridge Artists. Fashion assistant: Carson Stannard. Hair assistants: Debra Martinez and Margarita Allen. Photo assistants: Nick Brinley, Nicholas Krasznai, and Tony Jarum. Digital technician: Nicholas Ong. Casting director: Shawn Dezan. Prop stylist: Piers Hanmer. Special thanks: Gracey Connelly and Art & Commerce.
