Model Melanie Gaydos Is Redefining Beauty, One Fashion Shoot At A Time

In a world where you’re told to be a certain way to be perfect, one model is changing the way you view beauty.

Model Melanie Gaydos, 28, has ectodermal dysplasia, a rare genetic disorder that affects her hair, teeth, and nails. But that doesn’t stop her from doing the things she loves most. Gaydos has appeared in shoots for i-D, Galore, and Love.

She started modeling when she was attending Pratt Institute in New York. A friend asked her to be in his photo shoot, and she agreed.

“At the time I was doing a lot of self-portraiture in my drawings that I did for school, and he [the photographer] just really liked how I portrayed myself,” she reminisced. “So he asked me to pose for him. After that experience, I realized that I could do a lot more with modeling. I knew that I was the only person who looked like me. I was the only person who had my sense of vision and such a unique way of looking at the world.”

“When I’m at fashion week, I can tell what people think of me because of the way they interact with me,” Gaydos told Harper’s Bazaar. “I was never, ever bothered by the way I look. It has nothing to do with me.”

Read the full interview on Harper’s Bazaar‘s website!

Instagram/Photo: @melaniegaydos