ALEXANDRA CUNNINGHAM
Talks About the Realities, Misconceptions + Joys of Modeling WORDS BY TRENT JOHNSON
Alexandra Cunningham currently has a lisp. For the 30-year-old, this is just the latest example of how annoying the modeling industry is. “I love what I do, but there are so many things about my industry that I hate,” Cunningham says. “Recently, my family and I did a Gap campaign, and I felt really good about it. After, my agent [asked] me, ‘Oh my God, have your teeth always looked like this?’” Enter Invisalign and said temporary lisp. Despite these pithy comments ranging from ridiculous to incredulous to mentally damaging, Cunningham has persevered in the modeling industry after getting a late start at 25, when she decided to pursue a career as a model full-time. “I had a lot of things I was good at, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” she says. “I liked to draw, but that doesn’t mean I wanted to make a living out of drawing. I liked to work out, but didn’t want to be a Pilates instructor. I had a hard time honing in on what I was supposed to be doing.” Now a fixture in the industry under the moniker Alex Undone, she uses her platform as an opportunity to shine a light on some of modeling’s issues such as fatphobia, ageism and racism. When not on set, Cunningham takes her daughter to see anime flicks (in Japanese), walks the dog with her fiancé and hosts a YouTube talk show titled “Let’s Talk About It.” District Fray: What’s your day-to-day like as a model? That’s what people are probably most interested in, especially considering you have a 10-year-old daughter, too. Cunningham: Something that brings me great joy is crushing the fantasy of being a model.
90 | JULY 2021
