We are not a trend!

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We are an activist organization supporting refugee and migrant models through advocacy, mental health support and mindfulness 🧘🏿‍♀️

#wearenotatrend

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#wearenotatrend -

Our story

Mission

Our aim is to spread awareness about the injustices and insidious practices perpetuated everyday under the guise of fashion faced by refugee and immigrant models. To concretely help those who are currently stuck in untenable situations by mobilizing resources to provide legal assistance, temporary housing assistance, travel assistance, medical assistance, mental health support, visa and bureaucratic support. We also offer programs to help refugee models and their peers within their communities fight back like “Stop Grooming, How To Recognize The Signs Of Grooming”, “Contract Red Flags”, and “Trauma”

About us

The primary issue we are trying to draw attention to, by means of media coverage and legal assistance, is an insidious practice perpetuated by talent scouts in developing countries, who prey on vulnerable young people’s dreams to make it big in the fashion industry.

These scouts, who work on behalf of model and talent management agencies, are sent to refugee camps and other places where vulnerable young people are found, and “scout out” those with the “potential” to become models.

They sign them into modeling contracts under the guise of opening the door to achieving what so many young people dream of. Most of those young people signing the contracts barely understand what they are signing themselves into - often signing away rights like power of attorney and more without a second thought, often not even understanding the language.

The local management agencies (in this case, mostly African agencies, due to the fact that the diversity movement in the fashion industry has skyrocketed demand for African models renowned for their striking beauty and powerful look, this in itself is highly problematic as it tokenises a “trend”, but is outside of the scope of our work here) have agreements in place with international agencies, with whom they aim to place the models they have scouted from dire circumstances.

This so far is relatively typical for the industry. Scouts and mother agencies around the world collaborate with influential agencies in the fashion hubs, aiming to place high-potential models with agencies that have the connections and networks to truly grow a model’s career. A real talent agent is an incredibly powerful ally who will open door, make introductions, and manage a young model’s career in an industry that is, essentially a combination of winning a genetic lottery, being at the right place at the right time, being seen by the right people in the moment where a particular “look” is sought after by the invisible opinion-makers that define fashion trends, and, most importantly, being given the chance to meet casting directors and clients that provide the chance for the models to be “discovered”.

But herein lies the problem.

The collaboration between the local scouts and the international agencies is done without any respect for the livelihood of the models in question. The international agencies are signing the models into further contracts that remove their legal rights, as the power of attorney granted to the agencies extends into visa management, receiving of payments and management of all aspects of their client’s financial lives. These management companies even double as landlords, housing models in dorm-style model apartments for the duration of their “on stay” period where they meet clients, adding charges to the models’ personal debt account on the agency’s books, and then tying them into serious debt. The management companies then threaten the models based on the contracts they were unwittingly signed into, arguing that they are not allowed to switch agencies unless the accrued debt has been repaid. However, the models are often not given enough time to meet enough clients, thereby preventing them from getting the jobs that will allow them to pay off the debts in the first place.

In certain situations, these management companies then ship the young hopefuls back to their home countries without an explanation, forcibly placing them on a return flight and then leaving them with debts that they are unable to repay, while preventing them from signing with new management companies that might have offered them alternative means of income. In addition, there is no mental health support whatsoever, which would have been urgently needed to help these young people process what is an incredibly traumatizing experience: being given a momentary chance of realizing a big dream, only for it to be taken away from them in the harshest possible way.

Case Study: Nyabalang Gatwech Pur

Original case summary:

On February 28th, 2022 Nyablang Gatwech Pur was brought to Paris, France from her Refuggee camp located in Kakuma, Kenya. Nyabalang arrived in the city of lights full of hope with the promise of a better life not only for her, but her loved ones still in the Kakuma refugee camp.

Nyablang Gatwech Pur, unfortunately had those hopes and dreams crushed like the many young models before her thriving on nothing, but a dream and whim. After only being there at the acclaimed “Paris fashion week” she was told that unfortunately, this would be the end of her fashion journey at least for now, and she would be sent back to her family in the Kakuma, Kenya refugee camp.

My name is Mari Malek. I am a former refugee from South Sudan, and the founder of the organization “Stand For Education” that empowers, through education and creative arts for children living in conflict.

For the past few months I have been mentoring and coaching refugee youth who live in refugee camps on reaching their full potential in life by mainly providing them with mental health support and mindfulness ‍♀️

Nyablang Gatwech Pur Reached out for help, but before we could help Nyablang she was sent to Nairobi; but all hope is not lost.

Our goal is to help Nyabalang get back to Paris for the remainder of her visa, and to prevent this from happening in the future to other refugee models.

I have reached out to the fashion industry in Paris, and we luckily have secured work for Nyblang on her return to Paris. The fashion industry these days is NOT just about beauty, but story, and essence.

I have also reached out to several refugee agencies that can help her support her in a way that gives her a chance to stay, and work and in Paris.

One of the main reasons Nyablang Gatwech Pur time in Paris was unsuccessful wasn’t just poor timing, or the luck of the draw, but mental health. Many agencies are not equipped to deal with models that need more than just a place to stay for a month or two and a metro ticket, but mental stability.

Now more than ever with fashion being more inclusive we have seen an influx of refugee models who have been brought into the fast pace world of fashion to try and fulfill their dreams of a better life, but many of who are not equipped to deal with going from a refugee camp to mainstream life.

I am reaching out to anyone that can help me and the community that I have brought together to support Nyabalang and help her change her life, whether in the fashion industry or whatever opportunities she might receive not being in a refugee camp.

Phase 1, of this fundraiser as we have so much to change and advocate for in the fashion industry to support refugee models through advocacy, and mental health support.

*This is what Nyabalang needs support with and what we are raising funds for:

Travel - A ticket back to Paris before her visa expires. so Nyabalang can work with those who wanted to give her an opportunity in the fashion industry. This simple move can tremendously change her life.

Shelter - Nyabalang will need a place to stay for the duration of the time she will be in Paris. -Food Nyabalang will need a means of support for food while in Paris.

Debt - Nyabalang CANNOT LEAVE her recent agency, and find a new/better one, unless she pays off her debt (over €1,000 debt for only being in Paris for one week)

Visa - We have to reach out to resources that can potentially help her to stay in Paris longer to live a better life with more opportunities.

Please get to know Nyabalang herself and read some of her story below written in her own words…

Nayabalang’s experience in her own words:

My name is Nyabalang Gatwech Pur. I am a South Sudanese girl who is a Refugee in Kakuma Refugee camps in Kenya. I have been discovered as a fashion model and I went to Paris for my first time and I was just there for only one week before I was sent back to Kenya by my agency.

It was traumatizing for me as I thought that everything was going to be ok after being given a once in a lifetime opportunity to model and to achieve my goals by working in the fashion industry. But they brought me back to Kakuma Refugee Camp, where I was before, when I was trying to escape the situation that I was in, in the camps.

All I want to do is make some changes to myself and Refugees. We have been working so hard to change our lives and now I advocate for an organization called Stand for Education as an ambassador to help refugee girls like myself get education and opportunities. I also founded Young African Anity poverty organization to help refugees with food and basic needs.

As a refugee youth living in the refugee camp, I couldn't get enough support for myself as well as my other fellow refugees. We want to have a future. I want to help build Youths lives by empowering them as well as myself while we are still living in Refugee camps so that we have a better chance in life when we finally leave the camps.

One day I wish to open a beauty salon but for the lack of support nothing is going well and that is why I started working in fashion so I can change our lives.

Thank you for your support in advance. I will never give up on myself, and one day I will make everyone proud.

We really need your support to promote Refugee Education; advocate for refugee models in the fashion industry who do not know how to navigate how the industry works, mental health and advocacy for refugee models so we can change their lives because there is a lack of support in general.