Fashion’s biggest stars open up about the differences between the industry’s glamorous image and the reality behind the scenes.
Director: Shaina Danziger DP: Marcus Burnett Audio Recordist: Ana M Fernandez Editor: Victoria Mortati Color: Jaime O’Bradovich at Company 3 Sound: Ric Schnupp at Soundtrack NY
[heels clicking on floor][energetic music]- You have free clothes--- Yeah.- Free guys--- Yeah--- And, just money thrown at you--- Yeah--- And,you just sit there and smile.- I wish!That sounds sexy.- Oh!That would be beautiful--- That sounds real sexy.- That's the life right there.- Mm-hm.- Mm-hm!- It's not ours.- No!
[mutual laughing]- I think there's a misconceptionwhere people think thatmodeling is just about,looking beautiful or having acertain look that people likebut that's not the reality of things.- I would hear comments like,oh, you models, you guys, oh, it so easy,all you have to do is standthere and look pretty.No, it's really not.There's a lot of work and,sacrifices that go into this job,just like any other job, honestly--- To be in this industry youhave to be, very self-aware,have street smarts, book smarts,know how to run a business because,you're a brand.- You have to beyour business manager, youhave to be your own PR,you have to be your therapist,you have to be your mom, and your dad.You have to be your own life coach.- It's draining, it's emotionally,physically, mentally, it's,for your well-being it's draining.And that's like the sidethat people don't get to see.They only get to see the end resultand the glamorous bit of it.- Now in today's day and age,there's no time off from being a model.You're a model 24/7, people see you 24/7.Even if you go to a Bodega,Shirley Noel follows you on Instagram."Well how come you don't look as goodas you do in your pictures?"People expect you to be perfect 24/7.- Working in an environmentthat's all about like beauty,and how you look, obviouslyit shapes you a little bit.I always felt like, oh,if I would be a size 2I would finally be happy.Because it's what we see all the time.- My whole life, I feltpressured to be a sizethat I've never been.It's not like I'm comparingto a person that I used to be,which is also painful for a lot of people,to this fantasy idea thatsuddenly, if I was thinner,my experiences would be better,my life would be better,my relationships might be better.I don't think that that voiceis so loud today, thankfully,but for most of my lifethose voices were very, very, very loud.And unfortunately thosevoices are loud because,the experiences as a girl over a size 10,who also happens to be brown,and strange or whatever,it's affirmed in life, inthat like yeah, like your lifeis a little bit better, ifyou aren't those things.- I think we're all justbrainwashed by Hollywood,and like, all the gossip magazines.I mean it's hard to get out of it.- There's so many labels in our culture,like plus size, and straight size.And I just don't thinkit's necessary because,you walk outside every dayand there's so many people,and you're not labeling them in your head.- I think it can be,hard in the industry,in that it's just like,straight size, plus size, ta-da-da.The body positive movement forinstance was designated, for,marginalized bodies tofeel seen and validated.And that movement has been co-optedby non-marginalized bodies,to also feel seen, butthose bodies are seen.It's not for a size 6girl, to show her roles and be like,"I'm body positive 2, no offense."- In New York it's like, if you're skinny,like here, I'm Beyonce, right?My no-chest heaven, skinny-lanky body.As soon as I'm in Nigeria,they're literally like,"Ah, are you okay?"- Do you want foods?- Do you want some food?- Come, come, come come--- Where is your Niaz?And I'm really bombarded!- Where's your Niaz--- So beauty, I think beauty for me is,it's internal, it's what you emitto the world, subconsciouslyand non-verbally.It's not about the physical, to me.- For me,beauty means, your sense of self.'Cause I mean, people have called me ugly.When I go to the airport, right?My alias is my little brother.So I purposely dress like a boy.Some people will think I'm a man,and the next person 'll be like,"Oh my God, you're gorgeous!"Yeah, either I look like,a little boy, from the depths of Harlem--- Sounds groovy--- Or,a little posh, black woman.Either, people think I'm ugly or I'm cute.So it's like, whatever I thinkis beautiful--- Depends on where you are.- I didn't have access to magazines or TV,for the first, almosteight years of my life,before I moved to Australia.And even when I did go to AustraliaI didn't see a representationof myself, I did not.You start questioning yourself.You know like, why?And then that questioningthen turns into insecurities,and you start to think, oh,am I not beautiful enough?Is that why there's noblack girls in the magazine,or I don't see little blackgirls like myself on the TV.It's not a nice feeling.- Growing up,I'm 26 now so, when Iwas reading magazines,there were only like, thesame kind of girls, like,white, blonde, tall, skinny.I was like the opposite,so I'm like, hmmmm.No, so not, like, norepresentation at all actually.I thought that was the norm,but obviously now that it changed,and now that I knowthat it can be differentI'm like, oh wow, this should've happenedway before, like way before, yeah.- I looked up to,the strong women around me,and that made me feel likeI had a strong foundationand I didn't really look intothe media for representation.- Yeah, it's so importantfor people to be represented.I'm very lucky in a way that, you know,I'm a white woman so, Iliterally have grown upseeing people like me all the time,and it's really importantfor people like growing up,or just people in theirday-to-day life to see someone,that looks like them,and say, that's normal.There's someone out there like me,or this is being celebrated,this is beautiful, this is you know?I think it's so importantfor people to see,and be recognized.- That is what makes youfeel like you can accomplish,just because someonethat you saw yourself inaccomplished what you were interested in.The first time I feltrepresented was when,Halima Aden walked to theEasy show and that is,I feel like the most,important,part in my life where I felt likeI can actually pursue modeling,'cause before that I was just,it was lingering on in my headwhether I should just pursue it or not.But, when I did see Halimait made me feel that,just because she wasdoing it, I can do it too.- We're here now, mylittle sisters for example,they're able to open upa magazine and see meand they automatically see themselves.They can turn on the TV andsee another black model,and they can see themselves, and,I'm grateful for that.- My little sister is,she's five years old and she was,watching me on YouTube and she saidshe wants to walk therunway and things like thatbecause she saw me,wearing those clothes, and,she saw herself in me, so...And like...- [Interviewer] Think the fashion industryhas impacted your mental health?- I do.[inspirational music]