“I did not fit into the ideal. I was too dark. I was too tall,” Aamito Tells Allure Magazine

Ugandan supermodel Aamito is taking over the fashion world one magazine cover at a time. Her latest conquest is beauty glossy Allure where she stars on their April issue cover alongside Moroccan model Imaan Hammam and Dominican model Dilone.

This is what she told the magazine about her experience working in fashion as a model of colour.

“Growing up in Uganda, I did not fit into the ideal. I was too dark. I was too tall. But I didn’t really notice I was black until I came to the U.S. Here I’m black, whereas I was just a person in Uganda. [Last year, there was a close-up of Lagum’s lips on the M.A.C. Instagram feed that triggered racist remarks in the comments section.] It wasn’t that big a deal to me — haters gonna hate — and I was able to brush it off. I posted back, ‘My lips are giving you sleepless nights.’ I grew up loved by my family. That love enabled me to love what I saw in the mirror. I learned to love my skin too much to fit someone else’s script. It is the same love that keeps me safe from comments that would otherwise offend me.”

This is Aamito’s first American magazine cover. Just so you know, Allure is published by Condenast, the publishers of Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair, Glamour and other high heeled fashion magazines.