STORY BY NIYATI LIBOTTE
EDITED BY ALYSSA NEWBERY
NARRATED BY PAUL G ROBERTS

Fashion can be a brutal space for mere mortals. In an industry that is highly judgy, unapologetically superficial, and given to ageism, racism and fat shaming, it’s no wonder that most of us wouldn’t dream of a serious modelling career. And if you are a healthy size 14 and black? Forget it!

But then we are not created equal, and some of us have the nerve to change the conversation with a level of courage and confidence that is frankly awe inspiring. Of recent years we’ve seen a slow shift away from the skinny, Caucasian archetypes of beauty towards a much wider representation. And some are leading the way in style. Enter Paloma Elsesser, a model who has defied the stereotypes like no other. Female, of mixed African American, Latin and European descent, and a size 14, Paloma’s American, English and Swiss citizenship have afforded her and her sister Ama a unique opportunity to revolutionise the space of diversity in representations of Beauty.

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