Ad Age is marking Pride Month 2023 with our Honoring Creative Excellence package, in which LGBTQ+ creators revisit some of their favorite projects. (Read the introduction here.) Today, our guest editor Lucas Crigler turns the spotlight to Grace Francis, global chief creative and design officer at Wongdoody. Here, Francis writes about the agency’s work on the launch of trans-founded fashion brand Both&.

The most satisfying creative work often touches both the personal and professional for everyone involved. This year, as part of International Transgender Day of Visibility, we launched Both&, a trans-founded fashion brand in New York, Paris and London, with their first-ever creative campaign.

Professionally, the campaign holds all the elements you would expect from an emotionally invested and contemporary creative agency. Our strategy was to redefine modern masculinity to include trans men and introduce Both& clothes to the trans community. The creative concept recreated iconic Calvin Klein ads of the ’90s in which cis men were first empowered to show off their bodies.

Personally, this was a moment to be able to create a collaborative safe space made by and for gender-nonconforming people. Not just the models, but the whole crew—right through to hair, makeup and the musician for the official campaign soundtrack.

Our queer team featured the acclaimed gender-nonconforming photographer Lydia Garnett and creative direction from trans actor and director Daniel Sea. Both are gifted individuals in their own right, but their presence set the tone for the campaign. For many of us, this was the first professional space in which LGBTQIA+ people were in the majority, and it was a radically empowering experience.

The vibe could be felt on set and it shines through in the models’ expression. Our three trans men are not professional models, yet you can see how confident they are in themselves—not only because of how the clothes fit to enhance masc looks, but also how the space was designed with their comfort in mind.

The campaign was a huge success with reach across social media and press. We saw 1.8 million social reach in the first week, entirely stemming from the cast and crew sharing the campaign with the trans and gay community—not because of fine print in the contract, but because they felt proud.

Attitude called the campaign “absolute fire,” Queerty said it was “steamy,” Gay Times called the work “beautiful,” and Hunger said it “turns heads.”

The importance of this extends beyond soundbites to send back to the client. On International Transgender Day of Visibility, it is essential for us to show trans people living rich lives and feeling confident in their bodies and selves, because this is also the day that honors the memory of all the trans people who have been murdered for existing.

Our communities are still looking for that balance—to call out injustices and the stripping of our human rights, while also allowing ourselves moments of joy ... the universal feeling of catching your reflection and thinking, I love how I look today.