Model Paloma Elsesser joins Precious Lee and Jill Kortleve on the cover of the April issue of British Vogue, under the tagline the “new supers”. The trio are a powerful force within the industry, who all share a vision for purposeful fashion and imagery and ask for a more thoughtful and inclusive approach. Paloma is one of the most influential models on the circuit, and was named Model of the Year by Models.com in 2020. A regular on the runway for Versace, Fendi, Simone Rocha and more, it would be easier to list the brands she hasn’t walked for. In the April issue, she describes confronting an industry that is largely white and thin-centric, and getting to a place where she feels supported “alongside my sisters in the game”.
Keep reading for five things you didn’t know about Paloma Elsesser.
She was discovered on Instagram by Pat McGrath
In 2015 Pat McGrath found Elsesser on Instagram, and cast her as a face of her then fledgling make-up line, Pat McGrath Labs, and its first (sell-out) product, Gold 001.
She is a keen writer and poet
Elsesser initially moved to New York not to be a model, but to study psychology and literature at The New School. A keen poet, she considered writing as a career, and is currently working on her first collection of essays. “So much of the work we do is focused on empowering others, [but] now I’m giving myself permission to centre my own needs,” Elsesser says of her writing projects in her British Vogue cover profile.
For Paloma, family is everything
Elsesser grew up in LA with her grandparents as her downstairs neighbours, and she retains close links with her family since relocating to New York. “I just moved to Brooklyn, and my brother, Sage, lives, like, two blocks away from me,” Paloma previously told Vogue. “Having a family unit in New York has laid the groundwork for me to feel safe and protected and to flourish here.” Her sisters, fellow model Ama Elsesser and director Kanyessa McMahon (who shares a Lower East Side loft with her husband and son), also live nearby. Paloma is one of 14 grandchildren, and grew up with lots of cousins nearby.
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She is passionate about spreading a message of empowerment
The Elsesser family raised their children to speak up about social injustice. “I identify my upbringing as ‘hippie poor’,” Elsesser previously told Vogue. “Both of my parents were musicians, and my mom was a teacher and writer. I grew up with Black Methodist grandparents, and we were all in one household.” Her grandfather was a conscientious objector to World War II. As a result, Paloma and her siblings are all confident expressing themselves. “We’re all intensely imperfect, but we are all individuals who have been given permission to think and to speak how we think,” Sage previously told i-D.
She worked on a clothing collection with her best friend
Last May Elsesser worked with her best friend since 10th grade, Alexia Elkaim, who is the founder of cult brand Miaou. Together they created a 54-piece plus-size capsule, and at the time the model said to Vogue: “It’s also a way to make a remark to brands that have way more resources to show that you can do this.”
