Model Anais Mali: African-American model told ‘one black girl is enough’
theGRIO REPORT - Racism and a lack of diversity in the fashion world have been an ongoing concern - and now, the industry is under even more more criticism after another model shares her troubling experience.
Racism and a lack of diversity in the fashion world have been an ongoing concern – and now, the industry is under even more criticism after another model has shared her troubling experience.
Anais Mali, an up-and-coming super model from the South of France recently talked to fashion website Into the Gloss about some of the racism she experienced overseas.
“This is Paris — black girls don’t work here,” she said the agencies told her. “France is very racist, you don’t see a lot of powerful black people in France—it’s starting but it’s slow-moving.”
Mali moved to New York City at 18 years old and was later signed by Wilhelmina Models. She then went on to star in major high-fashion ads, including David Yurman’s Fall 2013 campaign.
“I feel like the industry is trying to focus more on diversity, but there’s still a long way to go. In Milan, you don’t really see black girls on the runway — it’s sad,” Anais said. “You hear things like, ‘We already have Jourdan [Dunn], one black girl is enough.’ I’m getting good work, I’m happy, but I want to see more black girls.”
Click here to read Mali’s full interview and tell us your thoughts below.
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