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=Teri Toye=

Teri Toye was the first successful transgender model of the 1980s. Teri Toye paved the way for many transgender individuals to come out and reveal themselves in the fashion world. Many labelled her as “the new fashion sensation” of the 1980s. Fashion designers and consumers could not get enough of her new 80s style androgynous look. In 1984, she moved to New York from Iowa to study art and fashion at the [|Parsons School of Design]. She was offered a modeling contract with well-known designers such as Stephen Sprouse, Karl Lagerfeld and Jean Paul Gaultier. She walked on runways for Comme des Garcons, Chanel and Thierry Mugler. Model turned entrepeneur, Janice Dickinson stated, “I personally worked with the transgender model in Paris, Teri Toye, back during the Thierry Mugler Show, and she knocked the socks out of everyone." Toye also posed for photographers Steven Meisel and Nan Goldin, among many others.Teri was known as an all out trans woman. Other models prior to Teri who were transgender rarely came out, however, if they did they usually lost their livelihood. Toye was even featured in the popular V Magazine with an article headlining,"Teri Toye's Androgynous Barbie-Doll Look Continues to Inspire." Toye walked with famous models such as Iman and Elle MacPherson for modeling agencies such as Click Models in New York and City Models in Paris.

In 1987 Toye suddenly disappeared from the fashion world and returned home to Des Moines, Iowa where she currently resides and has taken up real estate for work. Teri was quite the fashion icon of her time and still continues to inspire till this day. She was fortunate to acquire a legitimate and well-respected career, as very few transgendered women found success in mainstream fashion culture.

At the time fashion had been driven mostly by the music industry, with a resurgence of 80s bands and pop culture, it was the era of power, money, and fashion in terms of bright colours and experimental body-conscious looks. "Multi-coloured and patterned leggings, boiler suits, dungarees, shoulder pads, Farrah trousers and Global HyperColour heat-activated T-shirts were the fashion of the decade. When it came to hair, the bigger the better. From Sloane Ranger-inspired blow-dries, big curls and perms, bleached hair or bright bubblegum shades, there was a look for everyone and everyone looked different. It was about making a statement and wanting to be seen."

"Couture took a distinct "downtown" turn in the 1980's with the emergence of Stephen Sprouse, who set the fashion world on fire as the first designer to successfully merge street culture, punk, and high fashion in edgy clothing designs incorporating graffiti, vibrant and at times even garish colors, plus a fine arts sensibility." New York's East Village, is where Sprouse lived and clubbed with friends, such as photographer and illustrator Steven Meisel and Teri Toye. He dressed his close friend, novelist Tama Janowitz (Slaves of New York, 1986), and created the onstage look for Debbie Harry, the lead singer of Blondie. He also dressed celebrities such as Andy Warhol, Mick Jagger, Chris Stein (also of Blondie), Iggy Pop, Billy Idol, and the members of the band Duran Duran.

Sprouse produced a body of work considered to be the most visionary of his time. He provided wonderful opportunities for Teri, featuring her in many of his runway shows. Toye was honored to work alongside one of the most famous "rock star" designers of the 1980's. Sprouse's clothing included graffiti, sequins, luxury and synthetic fabrics. He also used a lot of florescent colors such as lime,fuchsia,blue and orange. Toye turned heads on runways with Sprouse's collections. The two made a great team in defining fashion for the decade.

Toye for Interview Magazine
Brothers Mauricio Padilha and Roger Padilha co-authored Stephen Sprouse Book''. Not only were they fans of Sprouses', they took a liking to Toye herself and asked her to share some words about Sprouse. The three of them conversed for Interview Magazine days before the book's launch on January 13, 2009, which marked Teri's first appearance since leaving the fashion world in 1987.

Mauricio Padilha: Most people think of you as Stephen's muse. What would you describe your role in Stephen's career?

Teri Toye: Stephen was so shy. I encouraged him and I think I gave him confidence.

Mauricio Padilha: How did Stephen come up with the idea of doing graffiti on clothing?

Teri Toye: The streets of New York were alive and inspiring in the 80's. Graffiti was on everything on the streets. Stephen turned that Urban Expressionism into pattern. It was his natural thing to do. Stephen was an artist. It wasn't as much about the clothes as it was just getting people to look like he wanted. So of course he had to dress everyone. My favorite works were the Xerox pieces. The green and yellow Edie Sedgwick, the fuchsia Francesco Clemente eye, and the Jim Morrison. They were more punk and personal than the later pieces. But that's just me.

Mauricio Padilha: You modeled for Chanel and Thierry Mugler as well in the 80s. How was that different than modeling for Stephen?

Teri Toye: The biggest difference was that I just showed up and modeled in the shows. I had no influence or involvement in the creative part. I was just in their look. Not a bad way to look I must say!

Also, in Vmagazine Teri stated to Andre Walker:

“I just wanted to enjoy my life. I moved to New York to study at Parsons and hopefully to work in the fashion business. Of course, then I transitioned. I did work in the fashion business as a model, which was an amazing kind of gift and just an incredible validation. It means more to me now than it did then. I was just happy to travel and meet and work with people whose work I enjoyed. I worked with all the designers I loved. I was more interested in personal relationships than business. It was never a goal of mine to become a model. I was asked to do it, and of course I did, and I was enjoying it, and that’s it. But at the time, I liked everything else about modeling—the traveling, the parties, the social life, my friends—but the modeling I wasn’t that interested in. It was very intimidating to do those shows, and I was never crazy about the pictures. If I knew then how good I looked, I would have been a bigger bitch!”

The Ballad of Teri Toye
"Teri Toye was born a boy but found being a boy a bore So Teri Toye had second thoughts and dashed quickly for the door It was the door of a very good doctor, a genius at the switch The snip was done, the past was shunned, the boy became the bitch.

Her ice cold beauty a weapon, her whip the dead blond hair And when Teri surfaced at club Area, suddenly she's “Girl Of The Year” Since it was the Hi-80's the unwritten rules were bent Such was Teri's chic even the mainstream did relent.

From the Boy Bar clique of Meisel to the rising Stephen Sprouse Teri runway walked her way up to Chanel. Yes, the venerable house Now comes a downpour of adoration, now comes thundering applause Teri is now not just ironic, the joke has become a cause And this where our ballad now takes a sad and tragic turn It is always sad to watch an icon, as quickly crash and burn

The clique it turned its back, the princess is expelled Ariane became the new toy before Teri's moment gelled But her hard jawed ghost still hovers in those neon NY nights I've heard that certain agents have Teri Toye dreams in sight So if you're tall and lanky and swing a dead blond bob The editorial kids are waiting to hand you that blue chip job."