Georgia Palmer had to leave home to truly find it.

Not that the 23-year-old isn’t close with her family—she and her brother are nearly inseparable. But after leaving Birmingham, U.K., for London and eventually landing in New York City, the fashion darling began tapping into the mystique, connectivity, and warmth of the global queer community, which helped shape not only her career but her very core.

Now a major player in the modeling industry, Palmer is trying to re- form dated precedents from the inside. GEN V spoke with her about leaving home, her flourishing career as a DJ, and what the queer community has taught her.

GEN V: Are you the kind of person who craves change?

GEORGIA PALMER: I like change and I get really bored. I need stimulation and I need to see my friends [in London], but then work’s really good in New York and I have good friends there, too. So, they’re just two completely different places. I need a bit of both.

GEN V: How did you get yourself out of Birmingham?

GP: My brother—who’s my rock, we’re super close—was already in London because he left home when he was 16. I always saw his life there and really wanted it for myself because it looked so cool and alternative. Modeling had also fallen into my hands when I was about 13 years old and scouted by IMG [Models]. Then I switched agencies and went to Storm [Management] at 16. I always knew from a really young age that I was going to move to London.

GEN V: You and your brother are both DJs, right?

GP: Yeah. I started DJing by learning from friends who DJ’ed at after- parties and stuff like that. It became a really nice hobby and creative outlet for me outside of modeling. My brother, Joel, takes it more seriously than I do. I do it more for fun, more so that modeling isn’t the only thing I do, you know? I still get really nervous doing gigs, but I throw myself into the deep end and just do it.

GEN V: You’ve talked pretty openly about rejection in the modeling world. Can you elaborate on that?

GP: There is a lot of hard stuff that models go through. It’s exhausting. It’s mentally challenging. You compare yourself to others, you take things personally, and you think you’re going through it by yourself, but you’re not—and that’s the conversation we really need to be having.

GEN V: What’s something in the fashion world that you would like to turn on its head?

GP: Diversity. There has been a lot of progress and I think it’s changing for sure, but there’s still work to be done. It would be amazing to see more Black trans models in the industry. I would like to see more plus-size models as well—and not just tokenism.

GEN V: You’ve mentioned queer nightlife as being crucial to forming who you are. What can you tell us about it?

GP: I would say that the queer nightlife community opened my mind up to so many different perspectives and to being open to new ideas, to expressing myself through beauty, through styling. To being whoever I want to be without any judgment. People have pushed me in every positive way possible, giving me love, giving me guidance. I wouldn’t be here without that community.

This cover story appears in the pages of GEN V (Issue 3): now available to purchase!

Photography Jack Bridgland

Fashion Nicola Formichetti

Creative Director Stephen Gan

Editor-In-Chief Mathias Rosenzweig

DP Mynxii White

Makeup Sarah Tanno (Forward Artists)

Hair Bobby Eliot (The Wall Group)

Manicure Jolene Brodeur (The Wall Group) using APRÉS NAIL

Executive producer Dana Brockman (viewfinders)

Production manager Frank DeCaro (viewfinders)

Producers Robbi Chong, Din Morris (viewfinders)

Digital technician DJ Dohar

Lighting technician Ryan Hackett

Photo assistants Adam Matijasevic, Ricky Steel

Stylist assistant Brianna Dooley

Makeup assistants Phuong Tran, Ghost

Hair assistant Arbana Dollani