why can't we not just live in a peaceful
world where everybody just
gets along and love one another
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i grew up in north yorkshire like
there's only
certain people living there and you know
you don't get
that experience of cities like london
where it's like a melting pot
of people from all around the world with
different experiences in life
and i think in yorkshire you can see
that there's fear of the unknown so
it can be really dangerous because you
know it leads things like brexit
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into
when we as humans support each other we
can only be stronger
and i think it's about using our unity
for good it just breaks my heart to see
the amount of hatred
out there in the world i just think it's
messed up how the refugees have viewed
but my job is really just to
show you guys that we're capable of
doing
anything and everything that someone
who's born in the western world
is doing being an immigrant and
a refugee for me means
it made me who i am and i
growing up it's
it's a hard thing to realize um
things like why you why people seek
refuge in a different country and
why do people move around and things
like that
it's not something that somebody wakes
up one day and say oh i'm gonna be a
refugee today because why not
this is just the position that a lot of
people end up in
and that was the position that i was in
but that's just
that's not where my story ends that's
not where
you know my life has to end
i found my way out and so many people
do and i want those people to be
extremely proud
i always say i'll always be a refugee no
matter where i end up in life
it's funny how like there's different
realities as a model like
if you were on if you were not a black
model you just get to be a model get to
be sexy get to be on yachts
get to do whatever it is that you want
to do and be carefree
if you're a black model all of a sudden
you're the pioneer for your race
also the thing is we can't go anywhere
without someone saying
you're black yeah every day you can't it
can never be
it's like i'm not just a model it's like
you gotta be the black this you gotta be
the best like that you gotta beat that
you can't be you're an artist she's a
black she's a black artist
it makes you feel like you're the only
reason why you're incorporated into the
conversation
it's because you're black i think that
grace is being
used oh my god exactly are you kidding
me is the sky blue
i get to go to a show and i don't have
to worry
if a makeup is going to have my color or
if makeup is going to be able to do my
hair
a lot of my peers sometimes i see
you know models doing each other's hair
because no one else can braid it
or you know they don't have their skin
color and they
you know have to run to the bathroom and
do their makeup themselves
it's just difficult it's just difficult
it's passive in the
systemic way at which
being marginalized and you know racism
and like fat phobia
and transphobia like still exists and
are so pervasive in this industry
it's evident in how it's puppeteered
when you go to a fashion show you're
like clearly
it's a trend because you like see like
one person
maybe they're like over a size zero or
there is
an incredibly diverse casting but
the gate holders
don't look like the casting
or the stylists or the
designers don't so
it's hard it's about creating a space
where you guys are like okay
fashion week doesn't have enough black
uh
models or designers oh my god let's find
designers black designers because
they're a ton out there what if we
put money into a committee that was
meant to help bring more people in
because systematically that hasn't been
their way of dreaming as a population
is recognizing that we're actually not
all the same we don't all have the
resources we don't all have the means to
get
to here to be represented when it comes
to
models feeling
respected there needs to be rules and
guidelines
that need to be set in place i'm happy
that there are now curve and plus size
models but the skinny models still need
to be very skinny
so obviously we are more inclusive and
where
the images are more diverse now but it
doesn't make it
easier for this for the street size
models agencies
need to stop making girls
stop themselves for status you know
we're not animals we're not working
machines we're
we need to eat the right food to have
nutrients
to be able to best perform and do what
we need to do and do our job right
sometimes when i go on set they only
have this smaller sample size and they
just have to cut the clothing open so
it's just obviously that makes it harder
to book models of different sizes
because the clothes the clothing are
just too small
to fit anybody we'll be at a show and
there's all these photographers floating
around there's just cameras floating
right left center
backstage girls are changing young young
girls
it doesn't even matter how old you are
you just no one should be backstage
taking pictures
while we're changing they shouldn't even
be allowed to be in that space
period the responsibility lies with
everybody
i've noticed that people look to models
to change stuff like why hasn't this
model spoken up
but just us speaking up this first step
you need the creative director you're
the stylist the videographer everyone
a lot of these questions should be asked
towards the people with power
in the industry i always find it funny
when they ask us
about diversity as if we just if we
should we don't want that black girl or
that asian girl or
that plus size girl we don't we don't
decide that
we find ourselves sitting here and going
through the same thing over and over and
over again you know talking about these
issues
and it really just comes down to the
industry so
it's really a time to just do what you
need to do because
you've heard it over and over so many
times
what we don't like what needs to change
was the right thing that needs to happen
so now just do it
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you