Zaya Wade Covers Seventeen, Reflects on Runway Debut: 'Wasn't Hiding My Transition, My Gender, or My Skin'

The model graces the cover of the latest issue of Seventeen magazine, where she opened up about making her runway debut at Miu Miu's Fall 2023 show during Paris Fashion Week, and why it was important to remain authentically true to herself throughout the process.

While Wade, considered taking out her braids before walking in the show, she ended up keeping them, saying, "I want to be impactful."

"There's a stigma around Afrocentric looks in high fashion," the 17-year-old daughter of former basketball star, Dwyane Wade, and step-daughter to actress Gabrielle Union, continued.

Inspired by an interview of fellow model Anok Yai talking about "not budging on wearing her natural hair on the runway," Wade decided to press on, and even got the backing of the luxury label's creative director, Miuccia Prada, who supported the teenager's decision to leave her braids in on the runway.

Wade noted that the veteran designer "came in, saw my look, and loved it."

"What I was really thinking about the whole time on the runway was that I was doing this very authentically," the Gen Z fashion star explained about her big debut. "I wasn't diminishing the cultural importance of braids."

Wade came out as transgender in February 2020, and quickly had the backing of her famous family, who were in tow when she made her runway debut. The moment, while monumental for her career as a model, was also an important one in her journey of transition, allowing the teen be unabashedly herself.

"I wasn't hiding my transition, my gender, or my skin," she told the outlet.

The fashion industry in general for Wade has had moments of surreal glitz and glamour, but what's been even more special than dressing up in the latest designer wars, is representing her community.

"There are moments where it feels like being on cloud nine. The glitz and glamour, I can't explain it," she gushed. "But while I'm dressed up literally and figuratively, I'm also representing my community and that's what makes it so much better."