Kaka: Model who laid the foundations for gay scene

Last Sunday saw the worlds of fashion and LGBTQI rights come together in mourning for the passing of a trailblazer – transgender model Katya Saunders, known to her friends as Kaka.

Social media platforms across Malta were united in tribute to the fashion icon, who was one of the first openly transgender public personas on the island at a time when there was not much awareness about LGBTQI issues.
The model was hailed by those who knew her as an inspiration and a source of strength even for the current generation of gay activisits.
James Mifsud, one of her closest friends, describes how she “metaphorically laid down the red carpet for today’s LGBTQ scene to be able to safely come out and live their lives”.
The two met by chance in the 1990s, at the City of London bar, a favourite hangout of both.
“I had already spotted her a couple of times before actually meeting her. I couldn’t help wonder who this glamorous woman, who looked like a James Bond star, was,” he reminisced.
After that first meeting, the two became firm friends and would hang out together.
“Her stories were something else. She had left Malta aged 17, simply so that she could be herself. And, in London, she managed.