‘Dehumanising’: Models announce boycott amid fashion industry racism claims

More than a dozen black models have declared they are boycotting Melbourne Fashion Week (MFW) in response to multiple instances of racism they have experienced across the wider Australian fashion industry.

The 13 models – some of whom turned down offers to appear at MFW, while others refused to participate in casting calls – are using next week’s landmark fashion event to draw attention to their experiences of racism in the industry, including claims they are being paid significantly less than white models, the N-word being used by a photographer, and hairdressers talking in derogative terms about African hair.

Jeffrey Kissubi (left), Awar Malek (middle) and Nyaluak Leth (right).

“In London, New York and Paris, you could not get away with what the fashion industry is doing here and how it treats black models, but they don’t seem to care or want to change,” South-Sudanese-born model Nylow Ajing told this masthead.

“Black models doing Australian fashion is a form of self-destruction”, said Awar Malek, a 24-year-old Sydney-based model. “It is absolutely the most traumatising, and dehumanising, underpaying, and overall mentally draining week and I have no desire to continue to participate.”

High-profile models including Duckie Thot and Adut Akech Bior (neither of whom are part of the boycott) have openly discussed their experiences of racism in the Australian fashion industry in the past, including their struggles to get booked locally. But after a series of negative experiences earlier this year, a collective of black models formed a private chat group to share stories and support each other. They met in person and online with others from across the country and decided to boycott MWF and speak publicly about their experiences of the industry.

“We never wanted to resort to this but there is only so much we can take,” Jeffrey Kissubi, 30, said. “Maybe the industry will care about our experiences when it comes from a group rather than one individual that they can quickly silence or just ignore.”

While the models are seeking to raise issues across the fashion industry in Australia, they told this masthead that they believed the low pay associated with fashion weeks is one of the main reasons black models are hired.

A spokesperson for the City of Melbourne, which organises MFW, said: “All models walking at Melbourne Fashion Week are paid the same rate, with the exception of some higher profile models – including those from diverse backgrounds. The standard rate is comparable or above similar fashion industry events.”

“One fashion week after the next, we are tokenised and then treated badly and hardly ever booked by the industry afterwards,” said Nyaluak Leth, 26, who has been a model for nine years and worked with major brands. “You begin to question why you even bother.”

The casting of models at events like Melbourne Fashion Week and Australian Fashion Week, is managed by exhibiting brands not the festival organisers themselves. This masthead does not suggest that the organisers of Melbourne Fashion Week or Australian Fashion Week engage in the specific practices mentioned in this article.

Jeffrey Kissubi is one of the models taking part in a boycott of this year’s Melbourne Fashion Week.Credit: Justin McManus

Leth has recently relocated to the UK because she says black models, in particular South Sudanese models, are celebrated and valued.

“Sometimes pay is as low as $220 to walk the runway [during an Australian fashion week]. You’re doing 10-12 hour days, and you have hair and make-up artists who don’t even know how to do your hair.

“So you do your own hair and make-up, and then sometimes I end up braiding another African model’s hair and trying to comfort her because no one else will or can style her. I’m just done, we’re not asking for much, just basic respect,” she said.

“Australian Fashion Week [in Sydney] and Melbourne Fashion Week are when brands hire plenty of black models,” Malek said. “It’s the only time they hire black models in numbers, and honestly, it’s because we are the cheapest at this time. It’s good PR for them. It looks like ‘wow, these campaigns are really inclusive’, but the next week and the next month, we have no work, and they go back to whitewashing fashion.”

Many of the models spoke to this masthead about the ongoing lack of basic inclusive practices, such as having make-up and hair services to cater for dark skin and African hair.

“One hairdresser [at a previous event] asked me ‘How do you feel about a buzz cut?’ she also said something about it being less maintenance and more manageable. As if a white model would ever be expected to get a buzz cut on the spot before going out on the catwalk,” Malek said.

The City of Melbourne said that they had engaged specialist hair stylists and make-up artists who were highly experienced in working with textured hair and darker skin tones.

Another African-Australian model who doesn’t want to be named said the box-ticking was blatant.

“I was backstage for a show [at a fashion week], and on the wall were photos of all the models – I was looking for my photo, and I couldn’t find it, and then I turned to my right and my headshot was on another wall and on top of my photo were the words ‘inclusion and diversity’. Just me, separated from the rest,” she said.

“I felt awful, I felt like an outcast, and I felt like everyone else was looking at me as though ‘we know the only reason you’re here’,” she said.

Melbourne-based Kissubi is the sole man to join the boycott, alongside the 12 female models.

“I’ve walked five fashion weeks – I have it easier than black female models for sure, but it’s still not easy or enjoyable for me,” he said. “We have to work 10 times harder and put up with a lot of racism and are expected to keep quiet about it.”

Jeffrey’s experiences include a photographer at a recent campaign shoot using the N-word in front of him and make-up artists who still don’t stock shades for black skin. He says he is no longer prepared to walk the runway for Australian brands until he sees diverse staff behind the scenes and black models regularly included in prominent advertising campaigns.

“I don’t want to speak out, but I have to, or nothing will change. We’ll probably stop getting booked because we spoke out,” he said.

Model Nyaluak Leth.Credit: Getty Images

Two of the models said they have evidence of getting paid significantly less than white models, despite doing the same job and having the same experience.

“I am always paid less – I know that for a fact. I always compare with non-black models, we trust each other, and we talk about what we get paid. It has varied from $1000 to $5000 less for the exact same shoot or show,” a 24-year-old Sudanese model said.

One Melbourne-based black model who does not wish to be named for fear of career backlash told this masthead that her agent accidentally emailed a white model’s payslip after the two were featured in a shoot together.

“She [the agent] definitely sent it to me by accident, and I could see that the white model got paid $15,000 more than me. We have the same experience, did the exact same work and even have pretty much the same social media following. I just felt so disgusted,” she said.

The model didn’t feel comfortable pressing the issue with her agent for fear of being branded “a troublemaker or ungrateful” and not getting future work. This masthead has seen the two payslips.

The models all cited the fashion and modelling industry’s lack of diversity across talent agencies, fashion houses, photographers, hair and make-up artists and event companies as compounding the problems.

“When it comes to who is the caster making decisions – it’s always a panel of white people, sometimes four, five or even six white people,” Jeffrey said.

Nyaluak Leth said in her almost decade-long career, she’s never had a black or another person of colour as a booker or agent to represent her.

“International brands generally do better than Australian brands; we could learn from them. Here we are still told by agencies ‘black models don’t take off here because it’s not the Australian ‘look’ that appeals to the public to sell products.” she said.

Nylow Ajing believes the Australian fashion industry would benefit commercially if it genuinely embraced diverse talent.

“It’s why Australia is so far behind international markets both creatively and strategically; it’s just all so white at every level,” she said.

In 2015, Adelaide-based talent agent Juach Cyer launched Rin Models, focusing on dark-skinned models. He signed modelling superstar Adut Akech. Cyer credits much of his agency’s success to signing Australian models to major agencies in Europe and the US.

“Dark-skinned models absolutely have an important role in fashion and are in demand, and my agency is growing,” he said.

As a black talent agent, he says he mentors countless black models whether he represents them or not.

“I get calls at all hours, after shows, the models crying and traumatised, and it’s becoming a real mental health problem for the industry. This is about safety,” he said.

He said that he supports the model boycott and understands why some are too frightened to reveal their names and faces.

“The fact they have to worry about speaking out, despite this being a common experience for models of colour … does that not highlight the extent of the problems in the industry? It answers itself,” he said.

Most of the models boycotting say they will return to fashion week if they see real changes. “I will only walk future fashion weeks if there are diverse people who are designers and decision-makers and part of the artistic process,” Leth said.

Leila Naja Hibri, CEO of the Australian Fashion Council, the peak body for the Australian fashion industry, said: “The Australian fashion industry is uniquely placed to actively engage in equitable, diverse and inclusive responsible practice. The Australian Fashion Council is not involved in the running of fashion weeks or brand marketing events, but we do require all AFC Members to abide by our code of conduct.

“This stipulates that we do not tolerate any form of discrimination or inappropriate conduct towards others based on gender, race, or national or ethnic origin. ”

The City of Melbourne said that MFW program “celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and diverse cultures” and pointed at a number of initiatives aimed at First Nations designers and models. Australian Fashion Week were approached for comment.

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