Model Nykhor Paul…Embrace Our Brown Skin

Model Nykhor Paul….Embrace Our Brown Skin

25-year old Nykhor Paul is a stunning model from South Sudan.

Because of civil unrest in her home country, she and her family lived as refugees in Ethiopia. In 1998, Paul moved to the United States and settled in Nebraska.

Now based in New York City, Nykhor Paul has become a star in the modeling industry. She has walked in runway shows for Haider Ackermann, Vivienne Westwood, and John Galliano, to name a few. Paul also won a Humanitarian Award from models.com for her foundation called “We Are Nilotic,” which brings attention to the ongoing crisis in South Sudan.

Recently, the model caught attention for her July Instagram post that shaded the fashion world for being racist. Her open letter to the fashion world on Instagram called out makeup artists for being unprepared to work with black complexions.  She posed the question, “Why do I have to bring my own makeup to a professional show when all the other white girls don’t have to do anything but show up wtf?”.  She also states how the lack of preparedness of many makeup artists is unnecessarily hurtful and insulting.   She went on to question why people of brownness are made to feel like they are not equals in the fashion industry.  She stated, “we started fashion in Africa and you modernize and copy it! Why can’t we be part of fashion fully and equally?”

Paul has made some serious waves since this raw post.  However, Paul isn’t the only one to shed light on the fashion industry’s wrongdoing. Black models such as Jourdan Dunn and Beverly Johnson have also voiced their opinion regarding racism in the industry. Change is very slow, but models like Paul, Dunn, and Johnson are the voices that will surely help to spark a change in the fashion world.   Keep speaking out Nykhor Paul, it is truly needed!