*Originally written March 2018
Mama I made it! I finally crossed off one of my major modeling bucket list goals of walking in Paris Fashion Week! Accompanying me on the trip was my mother, my childhood best friend, and two of my aunts. It being my first time in Paris I decided it was a must to take in some of the sites and culture during my down time. I'd like to share with you some behind the scenes footage from the entire Paris trip collected, compiled, and displayed here by The Modelpreneur Bootcamp.
As for the shows themselves, I happened to be particularly adamant about wearing my natural hair. Not just for me but for aspiring and established black models everywhere. We are not encouraged enough to embrace our natural texture in daily life let alone in fashion. I chose to use this amazing opportunity to defy those odds. Young black girls today NEED role models to show them that they are beautiful just the way they are. If I can do that by using my platform on a Paris fashion week runway to do so then so be it. The pleasure was all mine. This one was for you! Some of you may be asking "well if you love your natural hair so much then why do you wear wigs?". My answer to that is simply, because I can. I wear wigs, not to cover or hide my natural hair, but to protect it and have fun with different looks. Traditional fashion media today would have you think that black models are not versatile or that our hair is too hard to manage and change. By me constantly displaying different looks I am showing that we, as black models, are very versatile. So, do not take my various looks for a loss of identity. I know who I am and what I stand for. I am a proud woman of color who loves her natural hair and can pull off ANY look I so choose.
Many people don't realize the struggle black models face in this industry. There are often times where we are forced to have to do our own hair and makeup because the industry does not often accommodate for our..."particular form of beauty". I've had countless bad experiences on my journey through this industry on tv sets and on runways where the makeup/hair staff was ill equipped on how to handle ethnic models. For that reason I always travel with a few wigs, and my makeup bag. Ive taught myself how to switch up my own look for the job. A good modelpreneur is always ready and prepared to take the reigns of her own image. So, I say this not as an excuse or complaint for black models, but as a compliment to the extra work we put in and the obstacles we face that people will likely never know about or discuss. I see you, girls! Keep working!
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