Alton Mason – Walks the Walk

As a student of the catwalk, Alton Mason looked to Naomi Campbell.

- By Britt Hennemuth. Photographs by Nick Riley Bentham

As a student of the catwalk, Alton Mason looked to Naomi Campbell. "I wasn't really studying the guys, to be honest with you. I was studying the women because women carry this power that is unmatched." His own walk became "this equilibrium of masculinity and femininity." It's served him well. Since his New York Fashion Week debut in 2016, the five-time consecutive Model of the Year has walked 143 runways and starred in 86 campaigns. After earning the admiration of Virgil Abloh and Karl Lagerfeld (who had, shockingly, never put a Black man on a Chanel runway before), Mason made his Hollywood debut, dazzling as Little Richard in Baz Luhrmann's Oscar-nominated Elvis. But for a career that has, historically, felt all too finite, "you're missing birthdays, funerals, and sacrificing so much," says Mason. "I have seen a lot of people lose themselves." He's working on finding himself instead.

MASON WAS BORN in Nebraska, but he and his family lived in 11 countries over 13 years his dad was a pro basketball player. "I never had a best friend because we always moved. When I am spending time with someone, I cherish the present differently."