Leomie Anderson

[fiqary]

^Thanks!

I think I'm in love with Leoamie now. She deserves every success. I hope she'll make it big.

 

[simplylovely]

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? A dragon, then a figure skater, then a fashion designer. Then a dragon again.
​

Lol cute! She looks great in that pic!​

 

[Sunkissed91]

Leomie was in The Evening Standard's 'ES Magazine' (UK).
The best I could do was snap shots of the pages using my camera. I apologise for the condition of the magazine but it was picked up off the floor lol
There's an ed. of some sort and a page long interview.

Overall I'm not a big fan of this one (especially the wig???) too much denim going on for me but enjoy

Little warning; those of you who detected a slight cockiness/arrogance in her previous interviews...you might want to skip this as her personality is certainly strong

ES Magazine 06.05.2011
Ph: Amy Gawtkin
Styled by: Orsolya Szabo
Models: Leomie Anderson & Henry Gatehouse

(The page below has nothing to do with Leomie, but is part of the story so I thought I would include it)

 

[simplylovely]

Love the first shot & pics second to last!

 

[omgspicegirls]

WOW her legs are endless, compared to her that guy looks like he has such short legs

 

[Sunkissed91]

WOW her legs are endless, compared to her that guy looks like he has such short legs

To be fair he isn't a real model and is probably under/average height

 

[CharmedPrincess]

She is pretty and am a fan but she need an interview coach, its nice to see her working.

 

[fiqary]

Wow, she is kinda too confident tbh. The starting of the interview is like what her dream would be like but she is totally serious. lol

Well wtv, best of luck to her. Hope she'll get what she wants.

 

[Mea Culpa]

She is pretty and am a fan but she need an interview coach, its nice to see her working.

Wow, she is kinda too confident tbh. The starting of the interview is like what her dream would be like but she is totally serious. lol

Well wtv, best of luck to her. Hope she'll get what she wants.

I actually loved the interview and her cheeky confidence - I like that she seems to blurt whatever comes to mind and honestly I think the whole thing needs to be read with a bit of humour...

 

[Rotex]

She look different, did she cut her hair.

no its just packed into a bun i suppose

 

[santosmimi94]

she moved from elite to FORD MODELS!

 

[Mea Culpa]

OH FORD!! Sweet!

 

[|BellaDonna|]

Leomie's Open Letter in the Sunday Times Style - Inner Style Section

I have been working as a model for more than three years. I’ve been photographed for Italian Vogue, Dazed & Confused and ID. I’ve modelled at Paris, New York and London Fashion Weeks, but I haven’t done Milan Fashion Week. I’ve heard from other black models that it’s much harder to get work in Milan. The successful black girls don’t even bother travelling there for castings, because they know they won’t do as well, even if they’ve walked for great designers in all the other cities. Even people from Milan will say that the fashion market there is very behind. They’d rather stick with what they know.

I’ve only had one racist comment made directly at me. I’d gone to a casting for a London fashion designer, I can’t say who. They just said: “We only want pale-skinned girls to be in our show.” To be honest, I didn’t feel emotional about it. I just thought: “Well, it’s not my fault. That’s their opinion. They are out of date, and in time, they’ll have to change; they can’t continue with that perspective.”

When I started at Premier Models, Carole [White, the founder] warned me that some designers would have outdated views, and that it’s not personal. Annie [Wil*shaw, her booker at Premier] is bored with it: she says black girls have to work twice as hard to get picked up. Actually, it made me feel better that they raised the issue with me, that they weren’t awkward about it. And Annie is right: it is a lot harder for us. If a show uses 20 girls, there’ll only be space for two ethnic minorities — if that. There’s nothing to stop a fashion designer using only white girls in a show. There’s no union representation for models, and a designer can do whatever works for them.

Even though it may not be right, fashion portrays what people want to be; it reflects society, it’s the world we live in The preference for white skin seems to happen especially if a designer has been in the industry for a long time. But it’s a generalised mentality among fashion houses — they used to have mostly white customers, so it made sense to have white models, but now there are many more eastern Europeans, Asians and women from the Middle East buying fashion. The houses are struggling to adjust to the new market. It’s also possibly recession-related. In any time of rapid social change, people stick to what they know, and in fashion that’s the white girl.

“Shadeism” definitely exists: there are different attitudes to different shades of black. Lighter-skinned models are used more than darker-skinned ones, and if darker models are used, it tends to be for a traditional African look.

When designers create an African or tribal print, they’ll get a black girl to model it. I’d say I was in the middle of the spectrum — I’m dark-skinned, but I don’t have traditional African features, so I tend not to be stereotyped. There can also be problems with hair and make-up. Hair stylists never pack black hair products, because they don’t expect to see black girls. They can be scared to work with our hair. I wouldn’t call it racism; it’s just that finding real black hair is rare. Make-up is improving — girls such as Jourdan Dunn and Ajak doing well has helped — but sometimes, when my make-up is finished, it doesn’t look as nice as it does on white skin. They don’t know how to adjust to our skin tone.

You’ll find bitchy models, but it’s not because of race, it’s just their personality. I’ve never had any comments that have made me feel uncomfortable. Once you’ve got the job, everyone just behaves normally. I read about James Brown’s comments. [He repeatedly called the black presenter Ben Douglas a N%%% and his female companion a N%%%’s b*tch, following the Baftas ceremony.] Maybe he was trying to be funny, but using that word is not cool, and it’s pretty out of date to find it funny. I’ve actually met James Brown — he was nice and asked me about my mother. He didn’t seem racist to me. When people are drunk, they say things they don’t mean. Things always go wrong when people aren’t in their right mind. Especially if you’re in the public eye, you’ll always get caught out. And if you’re in the public eye, you have a responsibility not to offend.

Even though it may not be right, fashion portrays what people want to be; it reflects society, it’s the world we live in. The idea of fashion looking better on white skin is associated with an old sense of elitism, yet society has become much more diverse. In time, I think fashion will change.

Fashion is always outrageous, though, and famously politically incorrect. The bitchiness is part of that outrageousness. If fashion stuck to the rules, it wouldn’t be such a big industry. Even if racism went away completely, they would find something else to be outrageous about. I would like to see fashion be more open and less prejudiced to different ethnicities, but it is the way it is because it’s such an exclusive world. Its exclusivity is why people want to be in it. If fashion had a broader perspective of beauty, would there be such a thing as a supermodel?

As it is now, if a black girl does well, it’s seen as more of an achievement. That’s what drives me to succeed. I don’t think talking about racism in fashion will change anything. Even if fashion changes, it’s not going to change the world. I’d rather just have a positive attitude. If I were feeling discriminated against, I might go into a casting thinking I’m not going to get this job. It’s negativity that will disadvantage me.

thoughts?

 

[CharmedPrincess]

She is really smart and can articulate, love her even more.

 

[simplylovely]

​

They just said: “We only want pale-skinned girls to be in our show.” To be honest, I didn’t feel emotional about it. I just thought: “Well, it’s not my fault. That’s their opinion. They are out of date, and in time, they’ll have to change; they can’t continue with that perspective.”



But it’s a generalised mentality among fashion houses — they used to have mostly white customers, so it made sense to have white models, but now there are many more eastern Europeans, Asians and women from the Middle East buying fashion.

Lighter-skinned models are used more than darker-skinned ones, and if darker models are used, it tends to be for a traditional African look.

but sometimes, when my make-up is finished, it doesn’t look as nice as it does on white skin. They don’t know how to adjust to our skin tone.

The idea of fashion looking better on white skin is associated with an old sense of elitism.


​

​

​

​

​

​

​

She speaks whole alot of truth to be so young!
​

 

[Spark]

That is such a well-phrased, thoughtful little piece and it really makes her stand out so much to me; models so rarely get a chance to say anything, let alone write a letter that long. I LOVE her insight and the way she writes about her experience in the fashion world so far. Just loved reading it, I hope she writes more!

 

[charlieandmarie]

This letter definitely changes my thoughts on Leomie! I respect her a lot more now. It takes a lot of guts to call out the fashion industry like she did.

 

[Northern Star]

Very well said Leomie. Very articulate, very smart and very 'on the money'.
With an attitude like that she is sure to achieve in whatever she sets her mind to. Totally astute.

 

[Mea Culpa]

Her maturity and intelligence is obvious - she's realistic without seeming bitter or complacent... and I never get that 'too serious' vibe from her... I wish her all the success in the world!

 

[UrbanFashionista]

This letter definitely changes my thoughts on Leomie! I respect her a lot more now. It takes a lot of guts to call out the fashion industry like she did.

i agree