Leomie Anderson Sheds Light on Challenges Black Models Face Before a Fashion Show

Photo by Victor Boyko/Getty Images For Christian Louboutin

Leomie Anderson is not staying quiet about the realities of being a Black woman on the runway.

The British-Jamaican model went viral on TikTok after she posted a behind-the-scenes video of her experience at the Christian Cowan show during New York Fashion Week, where she ultimately did her own makeup before she was set to walk the show.

"And this is why I carry a full makeup kit wherever I go for work #blackmodel #modellife #modeltok #blackmakeup #fyp #leomieanderson," she wrote on the caption of the video.

Throughout the video, her discontent is evident as she is asked to wash her hair only to be left waiting until a team of stylists dries it at the "last min[ute]" —pulling it and hurting her along the way. Anderson also had to do her own makeup in about 10 minutes after an artist's attempt to match her skin tone left her feeling "ugly."

"I asked if they could do Black makeup," she wrote. "Why do I look like I work on the mines? Good try girl, but felt ugly AF. Redid my whole face in 10 minutes, can't go out sad."

The 28 year-old model called for the hiring of more Black hair and makeup artists who know how to style Black models so others don't have to go through what she went through.

Photo by Neil Mockford/Getty Images

"Yes, I ate it up like I always do. But by the time I walked the runway, I wanted to go home," she wrote on the video. "Please hire more hair and makeup artists so we don't have to go through this."

Anderson was discovered when she was 14 and has modeled in campaigns and shows for Victoria's Secret, Moschino, Tommy Hilfiger, Oscar de la Renta, Fenty Beauty and Ralph Lauren.