Biography
Nathan Westling is a transgender male fashion model. Since making his debut on the Marc Jacobs runway in 2013, when he was still going by the name Natalie, Westling has ascended to the upper ranks of the industry, fronting ad campaigns for the likes of Louis Vuitton, Versace, Prada, Chanel, Dior and Alexander McQueen, and appearing in Vogue's American, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, French and Russian editions.
Westling was first known for dying his hair red for the Marc Jacobs campaign with Miley Cyrus in 2010. He also gained major exposure for his red-head tresses during New York Fashion Week 2014. A favourite of designers like Marc Jacobs and Nicolas Ghesquière, Westling established himself as one of fashion’s most coveted muses in the 2010s before taking a sabbatical starting in October 2018 to focus on himself and his health.
Having been notably absent from the runways since walking in the Louis Vuitton’s Spring/Summer 2019 show in October 2018, Nathan revealed that he had spent the last six months living in Los Angeles, undergoing hormone therapy to align his physical self with his innate identity.
In an interview with CNN on March 19, 2019, Westling opened up about the struggles of growing up as a trans person in Arizona, saying that modelling provided him an outlet and opportunity to explore other identities. He plans to move back to New York this year and continue to model, with representation from The Society.