She's never had an issue with racial discrimination, but Barking model Malaika Firth is a firm supporter of the ban on models under the age of 17 in the fashion world, as she believes their emotional health suffers in an industry that can be incredibly tough, especially on young models.
You're treated like an adult in this industry, and we need young girls to be allowed to develop their character — so when you start you can stand up for yourself. There are so many young girls who are always crying. They need a childhood’, she told the Evening Standard.
Called ‘anorexic’ and ‘chicken legs’ at school by bullies, Firth was determined to succeed as a model to give them the two-fingered salute: ‘I wanted to model to prove them wrong because I realised I was beautiful. You can’t judge a person by their legs’.
Firth, who’s earned slots on the runway with the likes of Chanel and Louis Vuitton as well as the Victoria’s Secret show in New York, is the daughter of a half-British a quarter Seychellois and a quarter Ugandan Father and half-Swiss, half-Kenyan mother and her looks have seen her shoot to the top ranks of modelling since her first job with Beyonce’s label House of Dereon. ‘Designers are using me — I haven’t faced any discrimination. Obviously if I did come across that I’d speak out’. Of that, we have no doubt. The world needs more Malaikas.
Picture: Getty
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.