Alton Mason

Alton Devon Mason (/ˈæltən/ AL-tən; born November 21, 1997)[1] is an American model.[2] He became the first black male model to walk for Chanel in 2018.[3] GQ Australia named him male model of the year in 2019[4] and Forbes listed him in its 30 Under 30 2021 for Art & Style.[5] He is considered one of the few male supermodels worldwide.[2]

Alton Mason
Mason in an advertisement for Paco Rabanne in 2019
Born
Alton Devon Mason

(1997-11-21) November 21, 1997
Nebraska, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materAmerican Musical and Dramatic Academy
Years active2015–present
Modeling information
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Hair colorBlack
Eye colorBrown

Early life

Alton Mason was born in Nebraska, the eldest of four children.[6] His father, Alton Mason Sr., is a former professional basketball player and his mother is a former model. Due to his father's career, the family moved regularly, living in several European countries,[6] until finally settling in Arizona.[7] When he was 17, he moved away from Arizona to study dancing and acting at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Los Angeles, California.[7][8]

Career

Through choreographer Laurieann Gibson, he was able to obtain a position as backup dancer for Diddy at the BET Awards 2015, which eventually led to being signed by a modeling agency.[6] Mason was then discovered on Instagram[9] and cast for Kanye West's Yeezy Season 3 show at Madison Square Garden.[7][10] Two years later, he walked for the Gucci Fall 2017 show at the Milan Fashion Week.[11] He also made appearances at the New York Fashion Week for Hugo Boss,[8] and in a short film modeling clothes designed by Pharrell Williams for Chanel.[12] He was part of the spring/summer campaign for Lacoste in 2019.[13] Other brands Mason has modeled for include Gucci,[14] Versace, Fenty x Puma, Michael Kors, Puma, Philipp Plein, Jeremy Scott, Tom Ford, Valentino, Fendi, Karl Lagerfeld, Louis Vuitton,[15] and Off-White.[5]

In 2020, he filmed a music video in Lagos, Nigeria for his first single "Gimme Gimme", as part of the soundtrack of Amarachi Nwosu and Soof Light's short film Rise in Light, in which he also starred. The video was used to publicize a fundraising in support of Nigerian communities, collecting more than $10,000 for the Aga Khan Foundation.[7][16]

Mason portrayed Little Richard in Baz Luhrmann's 2022 biopic Elvis.[16]

References
  1. Mason, Alton (November 21, 2020). "birthday boy". Archived from the original on December 26, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2020 – via Instagram.
  2. Hine, Samuel (August 22, 2023). "How Alton Mason Became the World's Only Male Supermodel". GQ. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  3. Barr, Sabrina (December 7, 2018). "Alton Mason makes history as first black male model to walk in Chanel show". The Independent. Archived from the original on December 7, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  4. "Alton Mason Is 2019's GQ Australia Model Of The Year". GQ Australia. November 28, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  5. "Alton Mason". Forbes. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  6. McGillicuddy, Louisa (March 24, 2019). "At 22, model Alton Mason has already walked for Chanel, Versace and Louis Vuitton". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  7. Hess, Liam (May 14, 2020). "Alton Mason's Debut Short Film Is an Ode to the Creative Spirit of Lagos". Vogue. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  8. Petrarca, Emilia (July 18, 2017). "How Alton Mason Went from Dancing with P. Diddy to Modeling for Gucci". W Magazine. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  9. Marain, Alexandre (January 24, 2019). "Get to know Alton Mason, the model of the moment". Vogue Paris. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  10. Rami, Trupti (August 31, 2018). "PAPER People: Alton Mason". PAPER. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  11. Cadogan, Dominic (April 24, 2018). "Vote for Alton Mason on the #Dazed100". Dazed. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  12. Cadogan, Dominic (March 25, 2019). "Pharrell's collaboration with Chanel is almost here". Dazed. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  13. Higgins, Keenan (April 20, 2019). "A$AP Nast Helps Unveil Lacoste's New #CROCODILEINSIDE Campaign". The Source. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  14. Okwodu, Janelle (May 31, 2017). "Why Gucci Guy Alton Mason Is Your New Favorite Male Model". Vogue. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  15. Eckardt, Stephanie (March 14, 2019). "Alton Mason on Becoming the First Black Male Model to Walk Chanel". W Magazine. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  16. Kroll, Justin (January 26, 2021). "Newcomer Alton Mason To Play Little Richard In Baz Luhrmann's 'Elvis'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
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