Yomi Abiola in Rodebjer by Hedvig Jenning
Interview with Vogue.it about the model and journalist’s idea of beauty:
It’s everywhere and we can’t escape it, beauty is part of our lives. Regardless of being a model since the age of fifteen, I have always grappled with beauty.
I have struggled with the contradictions that beauty has exposed me to. “Be yourself, be gorgeous and confident, be classic yet trendy, be sexy but not too trashy and be yourself, but be someone else at the same time.”
A schizophrenic tall order I couldn’t subscribe to, I realised pretty early on that I needed my relationship with beauty to be more meaningful and powerful — more decisive. The opportunity to collaborate and create with women who understand how the power of beauty can be used impactfully is always an opportunity I embrace.
As I move through the various arenas of my life, my life as a journalist, social entrepreneur and model, I realise beauty is always the common thread. I wear my beauty wherever I go, and it wears me. My first encounter with photographer Hedvig Jenning was a meeting of minds and common vision. Jenning introduced me to a newly found freedom.
A photographic experience void of pretense. The designs of Carine Rodebjer, were a perfect accompaniment to our vision. In Rodebjer’s words, they design for “the modern and universal woman who is not defined by borders.” To be a woman that is both universal yet unbound is a journey I walk everyday.
