Colin Jones strongly believes in the power of manifestation.
Growing up in Spanish Fork, Utah, she was physically a million miles away from the fashion capitals of the world, but she was already living her dream of becoming a famous model.
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“I would do a runway show on the picnic table with my grandmother and practice on my mother’s heels in the kitchen,” she says.
“From the moment I was born, I loved being in the spotlight. I’m a Leo,” she adds by way of explanation.
The road to stardom was not easy. Growing up in the predominantly white, Republican and Mormon town of 45,000, the model known online as Col the Doll faced more than her share of prejudice as a transgender boy obsessed with fashion.
But her unwavering faith eventually paid off. Just two years after making her debut on Gabriela Hearst’s catwalk, Jones is coming off a stellar season in which she walked for brands including Hermès, Michael Kors, Givenchy and Nina Ricci.
“Oh my goodness, I could turn red just talking about it. I feel so grateful that I am in this position now and that all the opportunities have arisen divinely,” she exclaims. “For me it’s such a full circle moment.”
On the day we speak, the 20-year-old is back where it all started. She just finished shooting the cover of WWD Weekend and is taking a break from her busy schedule to recharge at home. Jones joined Zoom from the living room of her grandmother’s house, which offers a beautiful view of a nearby mountain range.
“These mountains definitely look a lot more majestic than when I tried to leave. I appreciate it for what it is. The smell of cow pie, I can get over it,” she jokes.
Jones initially approached a local agency after a psychic predicted she would become a model, and she hasn’t looked back since. Deep in the honeymoon phase of her relationship with the industry, she has decided to leave all the negativity behind.
“I just believe in the universal law of attraction. I think we get out of it what we put out there,” she says. “I always try to bring my best energy and just think really, really positive when I walk into a room, and I think you always get that back tenfold.”
That spirit positively radiates on the runway, where Jones has impressed with her magnetic presence and killer walk, epitomized by her dramatic parade down the Maison Margiela runway last fall, which had fashion TikTokers anointing her the breakout star of 2023.
She has worked partly with talented movement directors such as Pat Boguslawski at Margiela, Simon Donnellon at Nina Ricci and Eric Christison at Mugler. “It’s such a communal experience,” she says. Jones gets a kick out of getting an assignment, and then some.
“As a model, I always think of it as chameleonizing myself, plus that little bit of extra divine universal juicy energy,” she enthuses. “A mix and combination of all those beautiful things creates the most incredible mixture of spontaneity in the moment.”
At Mugler’s latest show, designer Casey Cadwallader’s collection was showcased against oversized curtains shrouded in shadows and dry ice. With regal composure, Jones struck a series of stately poses as the final curtain fell, releasing a billowing cloud of smoke.
“The moment that curtain fell, I just had to feel it in my heart and gut. I had one chance to do that,” she recalls.
Cadwallader was confident she would make it. “When I first saw Colin in the white dress, I knew it could only be for her. She was glowing in it and she was so excited. I knew she would move in the perfect way to close the show,” he said.
As she hits major milestones, the model takes in everything from moving to New York City and signing her contract with Women Management to shooting a Zara campaign with Steven Meisel and scoring the cover of iD magazine .
“My little fashion heart can’t stand it. I don’t know, I’m like the Grinch — like my heart just grew and grew and grew, and right now I don’t know when it’s going to pop,” she says.
“Being someone who really has the passion for it and the love for fashion, every second of it is absolutely bliss,” Jones continues. “Even moments when you would be overwhelmed. Let’s say a heel breaks backstage and I’m like, ‘This is so fashionable. I’m so for it. ”
Her most meaningful moment to date was earning her Victoria’s Secret Angel wings as part of the lingerie giant’s World Tour show that aired on Prime last year.
“As a trans woman, seeing Victoria’s Secret as that brand that represented that ultimate femininity and that power was not only good for my career as a model, but also just as a person. It was so healing for me to be in that space,” she says.
She doesn’t know if she’ll be back when the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show returns to the runway next fall, after a five-year hiatus amid accusations of workplace toxicity amid the burgeoning #MeToo movement. “You know what, I’ve been charging my crystals in the moonlight, all I can do is really extinguish the positive vibes,” she says.
She is grateful to have arrived at a time where trans models can be open about who they are. “It’s such a beautiful, pivotal time we’re in right now in fashion,” she says.
“I feel so honored to finally be able to exist in that space as that identity, but I definitely see so much room for a huge sense of growth in terms of diversity and inclusivity,” she adds. “It’s quite magical to see someone you want to be like and who has a role model.”
Growing up, she found strength in seeing models like Ariel Nicholson or Goan Fragoso pushing boundaries. “It gave me permission to be completely myself,” she remembers. Jones is happy to take over.
“People send me videos mimicking my walk or poses, or message me,” she says. “To know that I have that impact, especially on the younger generation, makes me emotional every time.”
In her spare time, she volunteers at GHMC in New York City, a nonprofit organization that helps people living with HIV and AIDS.
“One day I would love to open my own organizations and homes where people can go and access the trans health care they need, and it may be a process that is not like it is now,” she says .
Jones says she was lucky to have her mother’s support. “She made so many sacrifices so that I could be more authentic, and so that I could thrive in what felt right for me,” she says. “I am so grateful that she is just an amazing example of unconditional love.”
It was her grandmother who came up with her now famous name. Jones had just moved to New York and wanted to strengthen her online presence with a catchy Instagram account.
“I had just moved into my first apartment, my dollhouse, and I was talking to my grandmother on the phone about it. And I remember her ending the conversation by saying, “Oh, you’re just my little Col de Pop in your dollhouse now,” she says.
“And I immediately thought, ‘I have to call you back,’ hung up the phone, changed my Instagram account and that’s how Col the Doll was born,” she adds with a laugh.
Doll by name, doll by nature: Jones calls Barbie her style hero.
“Barbie has a million different careers. One day that girl becomes a flight attendant for an airline, the next day she becomes a businesswoman with glasses, and I feel pretty much the same way,” she explains.
“The way I look at fashion makes me think about what gender energy am I trying to convey today? You know, today was a little female Rodarte moment, but tomorrow, who knows, I might be in boxers and a baseball cap serving Adam Sandler,” she adds.
Her shoot with Agata Serge for WWD Weekend was another opportunity to expand her versatility.
“She was like a girly girl. It felt so current and fun,” she reports. “She brought me to the camera and we talked about poses we liked, and it was just such a shared experience, and those are the shoots I end up loving the most.”
Although Jones is currently fully committed to modeling, she does not rule out that she will one day broaden her scope.
“For me, modeling is just another version of performance art,” she says. “I’m open to everything and this is definitely just the beginning for me.”
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