Ajuma Nasanyana is a Kenyan

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

. She has worked with

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and Carlos Mienes, among other designers.

Biography

Nasanyana is a fashion model born in the town of

Lodwar Lodwar is the largest town in north-western Kenya, located west of Lake Turkana on the A1 road. Its main industries are basket weaving and tourism. The Loima Hills lie to its west. Lodwar is the capital of Turkana County. The town has a popula ...

, situated in the

Turkana District Turkana County is a county in the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya. It is Kenya's largest county by land area (followed by Marsabit County), and also its northwesternmost. It is bordered by the countries of Uganda to the west; South Sudan an ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

. Her first foray into modeling was in the ''Miss Tourism Kenya'' competition in 2003, where she was crowned Miss

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...

. It was through this competition that she came to the attention of Lyndsey McIntyre of Surazuri Modeling Agency.Nation Africa, April 11, 2019
Ajuma Nasenyana: Aspiring athlete who became a top model
/ref> Soon afterward, Gamma Photo Agency came to Kenya to do a story on McIntyre's scouting work and were so taken with Nasenyana that she became the main feature of the story; which later ran in France's ''

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'' magazine. The pictures taken were compiled into a portfolio and presented to international agency

Ford Models Ford Models, originally the Ford Modeling Agency, is an American international modeling agency based in New York City. It was established in 1946 by Eileen Ford and her husband Gerard W. Ford. Company Ford Models was started in 1946 by Eileen ...

, who entered her in Ford's Supermodel of the World competition. In November 2003, Nasanyana traveled to

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to build her portfolio prior to the Supermodel finals in

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. She soon signed with agencies in

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and Sweden. Nasanyana participated in the

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alongside

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and

Alek Wek Alek Wek (born 16 April 1977) is a South Sudanese-British model and designer who began her fashion career at the age of 18 in 1995. She has been hailed for her influence on the perception of beauty in the fashion industry. She is from the Din ...

for designers such as

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and Carlos Mienes before traveling to

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to model for

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s such as Ungaro during the Italian Fashion Week.

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was the final destination during the winter show season and British designer

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made her the lead model in her show. Since then, Nasanyana has shot several magazine editorials, a video for Lacoste, and a catalogue for

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. In 2011, she was also named AFI African Fashion International's, Africa Fashion Week Model of the Year 2012. Besides modeling, Nasanyana has decried the apparent trend in her native Kenya toward rejection of the indigenous

Black African Black is a Racialization, racialized classification of people, usually a Politics, political and Human skin color, skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have ...

physical standards of beauty in favour of those of other communities. In an interview with the Kenyan broadsheet the '' Daily Nation'', she stated that "it seems that the world is conspiring in preaching that there is something wrong with Kenyan ladies' kinky hair and dark skin ..Their leaflets are all about skin lightening, and they seem to be doing good business in Kenya. It just shocks me. It's not OK for a Caucasian to tell us to lighten our skin ..I have never attempted to change my skin. I am natural. People in Europe and America love my dark skin. But here in Kenya, in my home country, some consider it not attractive." As a remedy, Nasanyana has contemplated launching a cosmetic and natural skincare line for women like herself. She hopes that her products will inspire her contemporaries to love their own appearance instead of attempting to alter it through artificial means, such as by

skin bleaching Skin whitening, also known as skin lightening and skin bleaching, is the practice of using chemical substances in an attempt to lighten the skin or provide an even skin color by reducing the melanin concentration in the skin. Several chemicals ha ...

References

External links

Fashion Model Directory Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nasanyana, Ajuma 1984 births Living people Kenyan female models Turkana people