@chiamakabrowneyesnewI model to support other artists — it's so deeply personal to me because I'm a creative. Even though I'm a fashion designer myself, this event is not about me; it's about them, so it's my responsibility to showcase their art. What changed, and what keeps me here, is this: they treat you as a person, not as a model. One reason I stepped away from the modeling industry is that I felt like a mannequin — people changing your hair, doing your makeup, until you're wearing a mask in your hair and your expression, which takes away the joy of the art. But here, I come as a guest, and I live as a person. I live as Chiamaka. I love being Chiamaka, and I love being able to share the art as Chiamaka. Anywhere that doesn't allow me to be Chiamaka, I wouldn't be there — it's either I am Chiamaka there or I am not there. It's not really an opportunity that they gave me; it's a mutual privilege that we are able to share together.@chiamakabrowneyesI model to support other artists — it's so deeply personal to me because I'm a creative. Even though I'm a fashion designer myself, this event is not about me; it's about them, so it's my responsibility to showcase their art. What changed, and what keeps me here, is this: they treat you as a person, not as a model. One reason I stepped away from the modeling industry is that I felt like a mannequin — people changing your hair, doing your makeup, until you're wearing a mask in your hair and your expression, which takes away the joy of the art. But here, I come as a guest, and I live as a person. I live as Chiamaka. I love being Chiamaka, and I love being able to share the art as Chiamaka. Anywhere that doesn't allow me to be Chiamaka, I wouldn't be there — it's either I am Chiamaka there or I am not there. It's not really an opportunity that they gave me; it's a mutual privilege that we are able to share together.@angela
My friend has a designer line and invited me to model for him. I gave him creative freedom — it's his design, so I'm honored to wear whatever he puts me in. He put me in a Vietnamese áo dài, which is my culture, and that made me super duper happy; last time I wore Chinese cultural attire, this time Vietnamese. Honestly, every time I walk, I black out — I'm a very panicky person, so I autopilot it and wake up ten minutes later. I've done runways before, but never like this. Typically it's high fashion: you're straight-faced, you look like you can kill someone, you're in and out. For this, there's a party afterwards; we did a lineup and all of us were busting moves. So much energy, so fun, so different — I've never had an experience like this before. What changed is the energy, and where the nerves went. Seeing people model before me relieved a lot of my stress, because I'm usually intimidated by high fashion — people have more experience than me. But seeing everyone come out and have fun calmed me down so much. It's not about looking rich and hot; it's about having fun, letting loose, and there's no judgment. That's what makes it a really unique experience.
@weiseanI came to showcase my own brand — these shoes are handmade in Italy, and they accentuate the gold; all that gold has that flair. A lot of what I do connects: the shoes, the jiu-jitsu, the card game I made to teach it, the self-defense workshops I teach at music festivals. All of it is to uplift others, and the same thing kind of went into the show. Before I walked I felt good. I think I can do it. It was my first time. Between the first walk and the second, I was watching everyone, loving it, capturing the moment. The second time caught me off guard — I was like, oh, we're doing this again? Okay, let's go, let's go. I could have added a little more swirlies at the end, but that was great; watching everyone else, I thought — yeah, I can do that, I can definitely do that too. What changed? At first I said nothing — what would change? But then, you definitely feel more; you believe in yourself. I feel more confident. Like, oh hey, I can do this. I've always thought about maybe trying modeling; it's always been in the back of my mind. So this is a great place to try it out. Just try, try, try new things.
@chiamakabrowneyesI model to support other artists — it's so deeply personal to me because I'm a creative. Even though I'm a fashion designer myself, this event is not about me; it's about them, so it's my responsibility to showcase their art. What changed, and what keeps me here, is this: they treat you as a person, not as a model. One reason I stepped away from the modeling industry is that I felt like a mannequin — people changing your hair, doing your makeup, until you're wearing a mask in your hair and your expression, which takes away the joy of the art. But here, I come as a guest, and I live as a person. I live as Chiamaka. I love being Chiamaka, and I love being able to share the art as Chiamaka. Anywhere that doesn't allow me to be Chiamaka, I wouldn't be there — it's either I am Chiamaka there or I am not there. It's not really an opportunity that they gave me; it's a mutual privilege that we are able to share together.@angelaMy friend has a designer line and invited me to model for him. I gave him creative freedom — it's his design, so I'm honored to wear whatever he puts me in. He put me in a Vietnamese áo dài, which is my culture, and that made me super duper happy; last time I wore Chinese cultural attire, this time Vietnamese. Honestly, every time I walk, I black out — I'm a very panicky person, so I autopilot it and wake up ten minutes later. I've done runways before, but never like this. Typically it's high fashion: you're straight-faced, you look like you can kill someone, you're in and out. For this, there's a party afterwards; we did a lineup and all of us were busting moves. So much energy, so fun, so different — I've never had an experience like this before. What changed is the energy, and where the nerves went. Seeing people model before me relieved a lot of my stress, because I'm usually intimidated by high fashion — people have more experience than me. But seeing everyone come out and have fun calmed me down so much. It's not about looking rich and hot; it's about having fun, letting loose, and there's no judgment. That's what makes it a really unique experience.@angelaMy friend has a designer line and invited me to model for him. I gave him creative freedom — it's his design, so I'm honored to wear whatever he puts me in. He put me in a Vietnamese áo dài, which is my culture, and that made me super duper happy; last time I wore Chinese cultural attire, this time Vietnamese. Honestly, every time I walk, I black out — I'm a very panicky person, so I autopilot it and wake up ten minutes later. I've done runways before, but never like this. Typically it's high fashion: you're straight-faced, you look like you can kill someone, you're in and out. For this, there's a party afterwards; we did a lineup and all of us were busting moves. So much energy, so fun, so different — I've never had an experience like this before. What changed is the energy, and where the nerves went. Seeing people model before me relieved a lot of my stress, because I'm usually intimidated by high fashion — people have more experience than me. But seeing everyone come out and have fun calmed me down so much. It's not about looking rich and hot; it's about having fun, letting loose, and there's no judgment. That's what makes it a really unique experience.@weiseanI came to showcase my own brand — these shoes are handmade in Italy, and they accentuate the gold; all that gold has that flair. A lot of what I do connects: the shoes, the jiu-jitsu, the card game I made to teach it, the self-defense workshops I teach at music festivals. All of it is to uplift others, and the same thing kind of went into the show. Before I walked I felt good. I think I can do it. It was my first time. Between the first walk and the second, I was watching everyone, loving it, capturing the moment. The second time caught me off guard — I was like, oh, we're doing this again? Okay, let's go, let's go. I could have added a little more swirlies at the end, but that was great; watching everyone else, I thought — yeah, I can do that, I can definitely do that too. What changed? At first I said nothing — what would change? But then, you definitely feel more; you believe in yourself. I feel more confident. Like, oh hey, I can do this. I've always thought about maybe trying modeling; it's always been in the back of my mind. So this is a great place to try it out. Just try, try, try new things.
