A Fish Swimming Up the Fashion Industry

Photography by: Priscylla Guzman and Stephanie Hauser

At 14, Nolan Navarro knew they wanted to do something different with their life… Ten years later, they walked for the 2022 Winter Balenciaga fashion show in Paris.

Nolan, also previously known as Fish Fiorucci, started under the alias of Russell Jane as a fashion stylist. Along with his mom, Navarro created various photoshoots around the Rio Grande Valley and styled people of all ages. At 16, they became a fashion blogger; this time, re-introduced as Nolan Robert. At this point in their life, Navarro had already started their model agency and coached girls for pageants and modeling. Like this, Navarro met various people who created the fashion industry in south Texas. They were mentored by Melissa Vanessa Guy, who taught them about the industry.

During their first castings, Navarro auditioned for brands such as Palom Spain, Ovadia, Sons, Bode, Coach, Eckhaus Latta, and Telfar. They described casting as if they were in a Black Friday shopping sale.

“My first big casting, castings, were for shows that were happening during NYFW [New York Fashion Week] back in 2017,” said Navarro. “Usually, over 100 boys crammed into small rooms no matter the time of the day.”

Navarro, who currently goes by Fish Navarro, walked for Bristol, Maiden Noir, Ovadia and Sons, and Palomo Spain in their first season. By 18, Nolan was already walking on shows with attendees such as Troye Sivan, A$AP Rocky, Amanda Lepore, Smokepurpp, and style icons such as Tim Gunn, Luka Sabbat, Mel Ottenber and more.

“Fashion shows are some of the best experiences you can ever live through in fashion,” said Navarro. “The atmosphere, the chaos, the stars, the outfits. Backstage is insane.”

Although Navarro has had great experiences in the industry, there have also been difficulties. Being non-binary, Navarro felt out of place many times. Although they did not identify as non-binary before, Navarro told their agents that they wanted to be more androgynous and be represented on the women’s board.

“I remember walking into my agency in New York in heels for the first time and I was so scared! Non-binary models weren’t in back then,” said Navarro. “I had to act straight. Also, the industry is filled with multiple predators. Agents, photographers and casting directors were always getting called out for sexually assaulting models. Cancel Culture back then was by word of mouth, not social media.”

Navarro added that fashion helped them understand their sexuality and identity. With that change, Navarro began to throw away clothes that made him look heterosexual and knew they needed clothes that felt right to their sexuality and identity.

“Of course, not every non-binary person you come across is going to look like me with no eyebrows and in a mini-skirt, but that’s just what I feel comfortable in,” said Navarro. “I really don’t believe clothes have a gender.”

Having a healthy lifestyle can be challenging while being queer and living in the Valley. It’s not different with Fish. Growing up in a traditional Mexican household was difficult for Navarro; they grew up with family cookouts, quinceañeras and occasionally going to the San Juan Church. According to them, religion comes with internal homophobia.

“I grew up hating on myself for being gay. I hated being called gay and all I wanted to do was be a man,” said Navarro. “My mom and dad weren’t always easy on me when they became suspicious about my sexuality. I recall my dad giving the sex talk to my two older brothers, but I never got that talk. My dad didn’t know the first thing about gay sex. Nor did my mother.”

Besides being a famous model, Navarro is a Mass Communication senior at the University of the Rio Grande Valley. They expressed their love for the UTRGV Brownsville campus and the multiple places where they envision hosting a fashion show.

“The best part of being a student and model is that I get to analyze the fashion trends people around me are into,” said Navarro. “With modeling, it’s almost like a secret that some students know about and very few professors are aware of. Some professors are oblivious to this, but others are very supportive and send me emails congratulating me on stuff l’m working on. I like to stay under the radar.”

Navarro also said that the most challenging part of their job is being a full-time student and a full-time model. They shared that doing both results in overworking and sometimes wished they could just be a model.

“Sadly, after I graduate, I can see myself transitioning into working as something other than a model in fashion,” said Navarro. “It’s sad cause I want to be a model forever, but maybe that’s just for rich people.”

Nevertheless, with their experience, Navarro has learned about the misconceptions of the fashion industry. They said that some of the biggest misconceptions the RGV has about fashion are that everyone can be a model and that you need to be tall and skinny to model. However, the opposite is true.

“Signing up for a modeling school doesn’t make you a model. Putting in the work and developing your brand makes you a model. You can’t rely on other people to make you into a model,” said Navarro. “If you can brand yourself well, people will book you. There’s so many unconventional faces and body types all over the runway and in campaigns now.”

Navarro has a great passion for the arts, the Valley and its potential. They want the Rio Grande Valley to start supporting the arts. They said it is time to drop the stigma that studying or dedicating time to the arts will result in failure. They also advocate for others.

“I advocate for those without a voice, who are looking to find their voice and have been silenced in the industry,” said Navarro. “From simply being queer to sexual assault victims.”

Navarro added that they also love to scout for models in their free time, developing the faces they scout and producing content for F10, their model agency. They started their agency at 15, working on casting, scouting and set design. However, the agency paused as Navarro focused more on their modeling career. After a while, Navarro re-launched their agency with the name ‘F10.’ The agency prioritizes people of color, queer and marginalized communities. People in the minority, they said, do not get the upper hand in fashion.

“I dealt with being the underdog in fashion and soon realized I could be

the change in fashion. With that came the spark in launching F10, said Navarro. “The number 10 came from the 10 models I signed when I launched, some of which have worked with me since I was 17.”

Fish will continue to do fashion and walk the runway but on breaks Navarro likes to create content for their brand ‘Fish Navarro.’ They shop a lot too, and Navarro said that fashion is next for them. Navarro said, “If I’m not on Forbes 30, Under 30, or Dazed Top 100, someone please remind me when I’m 29 about to be 30. I’ll do something about it then.”