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Come Closer by Wizkid (Directed by Alan Ferguson)

This version is so much better. So much magic.

Watch it here.

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Khoudia Diop by Joey Rosado for 'NYENYO' Campaign

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melaniin.goddess

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Khoudia Diop by Joey Rosado for 'NYENYO' Campaign

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What 8 Black Models Want You to Know About Working in the Fashion Industry

"These microaggressions add up, and others models who aren't of women of color don't have to face it."

I grew up in Senegal, where more than 50 percent of the women bleach their skin, and skin bleaching is a huge deal. I grew up seeing my cousins and my aunts using it. My cousin pressured me and they wanted me to use skin bleaching products but my sister said you're not using it because a lot of them experience the damages [from it].Earlier this year, a friend of mine who works in the fashion industry told me that I had a commercial look, and asked me to model a turtleneck for a segment on a local NYC fashion news network. A few months later I was invited back to model, but this time it was for a major national morning show. I was thrilled. I never thought that someone like me—with dark skin and thick thighs—could ever "model." I counted down the days.

I arrived on set as instructed: makeup free and with my hair straight—not curly. The makeup artist on set shot me a look of annoyance. She had no color in her makeup set to match me and used foundation way lighter than my complexion, which made my skin look ashy. She swiped a bright pink lipstick on my full lips, to make me "pop," she said. I didn't feel like I was poppin' at all. I felt like I was being made up to look like a clown.

I knew that my one painful, personal experience modeling couldn't be an isolated one.

So I spoke with eight black models about their experiences in the industry, the microaggressions they've experienced, the ways in which they have been made to feel less-than. I asked each model to speak specifically to that body part or feature that once made them feel insecure but is now their biggest motivator.

Khoudia Diop, 19, The Colored Girl Project

I grew up in Senegal, where more than 50 percent of the women bleach their skin, and skin bleaching is a huge deal. I grew up seeing my cousins and my aunts using it. My cousin pressured me and they wanted me to use skin bleaching products but my sister said you're not using it because a lot of them experience the damages [from it].

Read the rest here. 

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Khoudia Diop by Joey Rosado for 'NYENYO' Campaign

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Khoudia Diop by Joey Rosado for 'NYENYO' Campaign

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@khoudiadiop  //  Ph: @islandboiphotography