“I was asked to change my name to a ‘more friendly origin’. I made my way on to five runways in one season this way.” As your profile grew, did you continue to experience discrimination? So I went for it: I’d stop male models in the street and ask them where they were going I’d follow them into castings I’d catch the designer on their lunch break and explain how much I wanted to walk for them. Some wouldn’t let me in when they saw my face on the intercom. “After working with Champion in Los Angeles in 2017, I knocked on so many agencies’ doors, but they remained shut. Kacper Kasprzyk / Courtesy Safe MGMT How was your initial experience of modelling? He has a simple order for the fashion industry: “Hire more Arab models.”Īli Latif. The 23-year-old has gone on to front Versace, Coach and H&M campaigns, while through his music he has articulated his struggle to find a sense of identity. In 2016, Tunisia-born, French Riviera-raised model Ali Latif was scouted during fashion week in the Paris bakery where he worked. Our culture goes hand-in-hand with protecting Earth - we look upon her as a mother.” Ali Latif Even if you aren’t Indigenous, connecting with our culture can help protect the planet. “Be curious and proud of where you come from. My brother and I have been fundraising for the Kumeyaay people so they can have the internet in their community.” What message do you want to communicate through modelling and activism? Last year, Indigenous conservationist Homero Gómez González was murdered for simply trying to protect butterflies. There’s the huge problem of missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW). “Our goal is to unify the Indigenous peoples (north, central and south) so we can support each other. As a kid, I didn’t have that representation, so I tell myself: ‘Be the person you wish you could have looked up to.’” What does working with the American Indian Movement West and the Indigenous Alliance Movement involve? Right now, I'm one of the only Indigenous Native American male models working in fashion. Certain dances and songs are sacred, and shouldn’t be portrayed. “Mostly positive, I’ve only had one negative experience where my twin brother Nyamuull and I were asked to do a war dance on set. Grooming by Kaeli Antrim How have your experiences been of working in the fashion industry?
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