Former Australia’s Next Top Model contestant and one of Fenty Beauty‘s muses, Nyadak “Duckie” Thot, made a huge step in her career yesterday when L’Oréal announced the Barbie-resembling model as the newest face of the brand.
The 22-year-old model of Sudanese descent is set to debut her ambassadorship on L’Oréal’s runway during Paris Fashion Week on September 30. “I’m honored to represent L’Oréal Paris, a brand that celebrates infinite ways to be beautiful and makes products for all women,” Thot told WWD. “I’m looking forward to helping more girls love the beauty of their dark skin.”
While this is a positive move for diversity, Thot opened up last year about her experience of having to bring her own makeup supplies to shoots because of the mainstream beauty industry’s failure to accommodate her skin color. Thot was also a victim of discrimination in her hometown in Australia. After struggling to book modeling jobs in the country, she decided to fly to New York.
“While emerging in a new generation of models, Duckie Thot knows how to use her voice to match the strength of her images,” L’Oréal Paris global president Pierre-Emmanuel Angeloglou told WWD. “Her energy and message of inclusivity make her a perfect recruit for the L’Oréal Paris family: original and confident in her self-worth.”
Thot said if she were to travel back in time and dispense advice to her younger self, she would say, “Dream big, work hard and trust in yourself girl, because one day you’re going to say yes to the number-one beauty brand.”
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