In surprising news, in the middle of fashion month, Australian model Ajak Deng has announced that she is quitting the industry via a post on her Instagram.
While publications like i-D have hastily rushed to blaming the prevalent racial problems in the industry without citing any direct corroboration from Deng herself, the stunner writes “Put your best foot forward. I am happy to announce that I am officially done with the fashion industry, I will be moving back to Australia In order to live the life that I fully deserved. Which is real life. I can no longer deal with the fakes and the lies. My life is too short for this dramatic life. I am thankful and grateful for every sweet souls that I have crossed path with.”
It’s likely that i-D pointed to race as the final straw for Deng’s departure because of a statement made by her agent. According to the publication, in addition to abandoning international runways, Deng will not model in her native-Australia because of that market’s bias towards Caucasian models.
No matter the reason, the news is saddening as movements like Black Models Matter kick off and conversations about what goes on in the makeup chair backstage are brought to the forefront. And while we’d give everything to have Ajak stay to continue representing not only black models but darker skinned black models, we can’t deny her her own happiness in other forms.
Do you think this is going to become a trend?
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