Nykhor Paul has had enough!
The South Sudanese model and activist has always been very vocal about her thoughts on equality in the fashion industry when it comes to beauty, race and the industry’s practices in general.
As a former refugee, Nykhor has reiterated how she wants to pave the way for model-hopefuls from Africa to achieve their dreams of modelling too; and with this message seems to be trying to make sure the industry is ready for an incoming crop of young black models.
In a recent Instagram post she shared how the fashion industry is quite racist drawing instances from shows where she was asked to come with her own makeup because the makeup artist don’t come prepared for her dark skin. Read her post below;
Dear white people in the fashion world!
Please don’t take this the wrong way but it’s time you people get your shit right when it comes to our complexion! Why do I have to bring my own makeup to a professional show when all the other white girls don’t have to do anything but show up WTF! Don’t try to make me feel bad because I am blue black its 2015 go to Mac, Bobbi Brown, Makeup Forever, Iman cosmetic, black opal, even Lancôme and Clinique carried them plus so much more. There’s so much options our there for dark skin tones today. A good makeup artist would come prepare and do there research before coming to work because often time you know what to expect especially at a show! Stop apologizing it’s insulting and disrespectful to me and my race it doesn’t help, seriously! Make an effort at least! That goes for NYC, London, Milan, Paris and Cape Town plus everywhere else that have issues with black skin tones. Just because you only book a few of us doesn’t mean you have the right to make us look ratchet. I’m tired of complaining about not getting book as a black model and I’m definitely super tired of apologizing for my blackness!!!! Fashion is art, art is never racist it should be inclusive of all not only white people, shit we started fashion in Africa and you modernize and copy it! Why can’t we be part of fashion fully and equally?
Nykhor has walked the runway for countless designers, the last of which was the ILJA for their Fall/Winter Couture 2015 show in Amsterdam. Maybe that was the label that prompted this message?