SAO PAULO - Afro-Brazilian models Shirley Pitta and Gloria Maria Fonseca Siqueira had dreamed of the catwalk since they were girls, but in a Brazilian fashion world much whiter than the country itself, it remained a far-away fantasy until recently.
"It took me a long time to see myself as a beautiful person, a person who exists. Because on television, I always saw things I wasn't," says Pitta, 21, whose portfolio already includes work for leading fashion magazines Vogue, Elle and Marie Claire. With her short hair, high cheekbones and piercing gaze, Pitta exudes a confidence she says does not come as easily at it might appear.
In Brazil, the last country in the Americas to abolish slavery - in 1888 - around 55 per cent of the population identifies as black or mixed-race. More on this topic So it was a sign of radical change when SPFW, which was held remotely this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, required more inclusive casting.'I'll never make it' Tall and thin, with an exuberant afro, Siqueira says it took her a long time to realise she could have a future in the fashion world, despite people telling her she had potential as a model.
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