"Most are not local brands, but they are brands that are trying to promote internationally - that's the thing," she said of the kind of clients willing to look beyond white or Asian models. One of her most booked models, she said, is an 18-year-old Burundian. They have enjoyed some successes - though she admits changing attitudes is hard. Ilunga's agency now has 32 male and female models on its books from places such as Rwanda, Burundi, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and the Philippines. "Representation matters so much," she said, adding she believes fashion is an accessible way to change minds - and prevent other young women from feeling they have to change. Just so that I could fit into society's norms," Ilunga explained.Īfter rounds of rejections, in 2018 she opened her own small agency to champion models of all skin tones and sizes. "I started lightening my skin, using lightening products. The same was true of the massive fashion market in the Chinese mainland. I was 17, it just broke my heart."Īgain and again, she saw that models in the wealthy global finance hub - home to roughly 600,000 people of non-Chinese descent - were expected to be "tall, light, and skinny." "I would walk into an agency and they told me that they prefer white models to black models," Ilunga, who moved to China's Hong Kong as a child refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo, told AFP. While the Black Lives Matter movement fuels debate and change in the fashion worlds of the US and parts of Europe, industry figures say Asia's beauty and body expectations remain dominated by an ideal that is pale, thin, and unrepresentative of the region. Now the 22-year-old is trying to change that, one model at a time. Photo: AFPĪs a young black woman modeling in Hong Kong, Harmony Anne-Marie Ilunga rarely saw anyone who looked like her in the magazines. “Our products and services have never been more important to how our customers live and work, and thanks to the significant investment BT is putting into digital infrastructure and in the modernisation of its services, I see us playing an even more important role going forward.Harmony Anne-Marie Ilunga prepares to take to the catwalk during the "Harmony IV" fashion show in Hong Kong on November 6. Kirkby added: “BT is such an important company for the UK, and our many customers both in the UK and internationally and is uniquely placed to help everyone benefit from the rapid advances in digitalisation.” I look forward to supporting her as we drive our long-term strategy to transform BT Group, ensuring it delivers for all our stakeholders.” We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.Īdam Crozier, the BT Group chair, said: “She is a proven leader, with deep sector experience and a history of having transformed businesses. For more information see our Privacy Policy. Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. The other female chief executives in the FTSE 100 are: Margherita Della Valle, chief executive of Vodafone Debra Crew at the world’s biggest spirits maker Diageo Amanda Blanc at the insurer Aviva Dame Emma Walmsley at the drugmaker GSK Jette Nygaard-Andersen at the gambling firm Entain Jennie Daly at the housebuilder Taylor Wimpey Milena Mondini de Focatiis at the insurer Admiral, Louise Beardmore, at United Utilities, the UK’s largest listed water company and Liv Garfield at former leader at BT’s Openreach subsidiary and chief executive at the water company Severn Trent. Her appointment will take the number of female FTSE 100 chief executives back to 10, after the departure of NatWest Group boss Alison Rose last week after she admitted discussing Nigel Farage’s personal banking situation with a journalist. She will receive a salary of £1.1m, the same as Jansen’s, although her total pay package could be quadruple that under a bonus and share award scheme. She led the Swedish telecoms company Tele2 and Danish telecoms company TDC between 20. She then spent 20 years at consumer goods company Procter & Gamble before entering the telecoms industry with Virgin Media. Kirkby started her career by qualifying as a chartered management accountant in 1990 while at the drinks company Guinness. It closed on Friday at £1.24, valuing the company at £12bn, after a steady decline from nearly £5 a share in early 2016. BT’s share price has nearly halved since he joined in February 2019. She said: “Having been a member of the BT group board for the past four years, I’m fully supportive of our strategy and am excited about leading it into its next phase of development, as we grow to support customers, shareholders and the UK economy.”īT, which owns the EE mobile network and a large broadband internet network, announced it was looking for a successor to Jansen earlier this month. As a board member since 2019, Kirkby played a role in signing off that strategy.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |