a lotofthetimes I wouldgetthequestionlike, What's itlikeifyou'rethecurvygirlonsetnexttoalltheskinnyorgirls?
Fine.
Theydon't treatmelike a zooanimal.
I'm a model.
I'm a model.
I'm I'm I am a model.
When I wasabout 15 16 yearsoldand I wasinParisand I waswaitingdownstairstodo a castingfor a runwayshow, theytoldmethat I couldn't goupbecausetheyalreadyfound a girlofmykind.
I criedthewholenightand I couldn't understandwhysomebodywhowouldnoteventake a lookatmybookbecauseofmycolor.
I don't knowwhy I waslabeledthatcurlyhairisn't classy.
Besidesbe a stereotype, eitherlazyorglam, whensomanypeoplearegiventheopportunitytobesomanydifferentthingstookmanyyearsforittodawnonmethat I wasn't seeinganymakeupcastings.
I wasn't seenanyhaircastings.
I wasn't reallydoinganyeditorialsorwasn't beingabletobeinthemagazinesthat I read.
Andsothat's when I thinkreallyweweall I'llsayweallthegirlsofliketheplusindustrystartedtokindofwakeupin a lightbulb.
Wentonwaslike, Well, holdon a second, we'reactuallyprettyfabandweshouldn't beseenYoucouldalwaysseewhenthecurvygirlswerecomingthroughthedoorfor a castingbecausewejustcame, like, fullontojustsaylike I'm hereandyouneedme.
Mydadalwayssaidblessessonobodycanconveywhoyouare.
Butyourself, ifyouhadtoldme I'm comingfromSouthSudanand I'llbe a brightfishing, l I wouldhavetoldyou, like, don't bedone.
I mean, I justrememberedwalkingoutinthatoutfitwhereit's alltheselittlebeadsandallthesesimilarstresses, youknow, toknowwheretheirwhitecoats, they'reallstandingthere.
I mean, itisthefirsttimethat I burstintotearsbecause, youknow, myparentswouldhavebeenreallyproudbecauseitwasdeeperthanjust, youknow, a fashionshow.
I grewupbetweenEastandsouthofIndia.
I wasscoutedwhen I was 25.
I honestlydidnoteverthink I wouldbemodeling.
I'm here.
That's a bigdeal.
Youknow, like I haven't seengirlslikemeontherunwaybefore.
I couldneverflipthrough a magazineandseesomebodywearing a hijabandWhenyoudon't seesomething, it's reallyhardtobelieveit, butit's alsoreallyhardtoevenpictureyourselfas a covergirlassomebodywho's a model.
Itwassignedtoe I MGmodels, anditwas a firstforthemtohave a hijabwearingwoman.
Sometimes I sayitanditfeelslike I'm reading a scriptfrom a crazymovie.
Likewhatinthewhat?
There's beensomuchchanges.
Firstofall, I'm nottheonlySouthSudanesegirlon a runway, huh?
Therearelove, reallyamazingyounggirls.
I justhadtostopforonemomenttheotherdaybackstageatMarcJacobs.
Allof a sudden, I'm like, Thisisnohome.
ThisisMarcJacobsbackstage.
We'retalkinginDinkaFallendink.
I wassocool.
Theindustryischanging, butitstillhas a longwaytogo.