Dalton Dubois of Guelph, Ont., made history at the recent Paris Fashion Week when she became the first transgender model to walk the runway for Chanel Exclusive.

Dubois, 24, started modelling during the pandemic after dropping out of high school in Guelph, the southwestern Ontario city where she grew up.

“My mind goes a bit blank,” Dubois said on CBC Radio’s Metro Morning about appearing at the event, which ran from March 2 to 10. “I think that adrenalin really takes over.

“It’s a lot of nerves up until I’m on the runway, but then the second production pushes you out onto the runway and you start walking, for me at least, speaking from experience … it’s like stepping into a different character,” she said. 

She described the experience as “a life-changing opportunity” for her modelling journey.

Dubois said she never thought modelling would be a feasible job and never really dove into it thinking it was an actual opportunity until she met her agent, Chantelle Nadeau, in Toronto. At the time, Dubois was working at a retirement home in Guelph.

“Somebody recommended me to her and [we] started working immediately,” Dubois said, adding, “I quit my job and I was on the runway for Burberry a year and a half later.”

From humble beginnings

Dubois said getting to this stage in her career has not been easy.

“I come from a humble background, I don’t have a lot of financial handouts, so when you’re beginning in modelling, it’s a lot of proving yourself,” she said.

“Some people definitely can get the golden ticket, but it’s a lot of proving yourself. There was times in airports that I didn’t have $5 to buy myself a coffee or a bite to eat in the morning.

“You know, you’re asking for advancements from your agency, sometimes as small as, like, $65 at a time, just so that you can get on public metro.”

WATCH | CBC Radio’s Metro Morning spoke with Dalton Dubois :

Dubois said she’s grateful for her “amazing team,” who gave her “some money jobs between these higher-end, A-list jobs.” 

Becoming the first trans person to walk the Chanel runway has meant a great deal to her. 

“I love when queer people get given their flowers in the fashion space specifically because so much of the fashion space is built upon queer knowledge, queer research, queer creativity, so that always feels great,” she said. 

“I would love to be a trailblazer that just shows that trans people really want to be normal members of society, and in fact, when they are given the resources like I was so graciously given growing up in Canada, God bless Canada, trans people really can just exist and have normal fulfilling lives when there’s not insane amounts of challenges placed in front of them.”

A model of acceptance

The chair of Out on the Shelf — the Umbrella organization for Guelph Pride — said Dubois’s achievement means a lot for transgender people.

“As a trans woman and board member at Out on the Shelf, I am always delighted to see other trans people featured prominently in society,” Athena van Nacht told CBC News.

“It may seem like a small thing, but even our participation in the mundane speaks to a growing acceptance of trans people within our society — something sorely needed in this hostile political climate. We certainly wish Dalton the best in her growing fashion career.”