Transgender model Lea T walks Alexandre Herchcovit’s Sao Paulo fashion show. The Lea T madness is a bit crazy, as the transsexual model landed in Brazil to walk Alexandre Herchcovitch’s show at Sao Paulo Fashion Week. Our own web traffic around Lea T attests to the fact that the world is obsessed with her.

I sense the interest isn’t pure voyeurism but an awareness that something very real is happening in the expressions of sexuality and gender. With Brazil at the forefront of global influence, their views on sexuality — notably more progressive than America’s — will drive changes into the future.

Lea T is also associated with an emerging group of indy createurs. They aren’t anti-establishment or anti-fashion but notably more intellectual and values-driven than the mainstream fashion establishment. This is all part of what I call the Smart Sensuality movement.

Transgender model Lea T walks Alexandre Herchcovitch’s Sao Paulo fashion show Jan 2011Lea T, a native Brazilian was born Leandro Cerezo in Bela Horizonte Brazil in 1981. Lea began as a male model, but found successful bookings as a female. Lea T found a strong supporter in Italian designer Riccardo Tisci, who took a center stage role in Givenchy’s fall/winter 2010 collections, inspired by androgyny.

More Lea T articles:

Lea T on Oprah, February 17, 2010 | Video Embedded

Lea T & Oprah | Viewers Seek To Understand Gender Identity Disorder AOC FP

Another excellent Lea T interview:

Lea T Models.com Interview & Video Informative & Charming

Updated| LOVE Androgyny editorial is released:

Lea T, Kate Moss & Natalia Vodianova | Mert & Marcus | LOVE S/S 2011 Androgyny Issue

On the LOVE cover Moss and Lea enjoy a kiss, with Moss dressed as a male, and Lea T looking feminine.

Kate Moss & Lea T | LOVE Magazine Androgyny Issue | Mert & Marcus

My own skills as a writer and interviewer have always involved an ability to connect with the human side of a story.

Lea T emerges as a very strong character, as explained by LURVE editor and founder Lyna Ahanda who gave Lea her first cover and gorgeous editorial spread.

The idea behind this cover was to shoot someone close to the people we know and hang out with everyday. Those people are very different from the ones you can see on the cover or even in a fashion magazine. We wanted to promote diversity at its best.

I met Lea over a year ago, she is [tall], amazing black long hair, beautiful skin, I could not tell first that she was transgender.

Lea was, for me, the perfect exemple of someone standing for herself. She had the strength to actually go from Leo to Lea. This cover was not about the hype. We are a small indie magazine, we just wanted to go with this idea of promoting change.

Lea T | Carlotta Manaigo | LURVE Magazine

Lea T will appear on one of the season’s final Oprah shows next month. I simply can’t imagine what will happen after that event. Perhaps websites will crash worldwide. Anne

Anne’s writing on Lea T and fashion editorials:

Kate Moss & Lea T | LOVE Androgyny Issue