VICE FASHION - SWEDISH GIRLS WHO DON'T LOOK "SWEDISH"
PHOTOS, WORDS, AND STYLING: MARGUERITE SEGER
I’m half French, half Sinhalese, and when I look at contemporary fashion shoots I can’t relate at all. Plus I used to model a bit when I was younger, and the only work I could get was sitting in lotus position in an “ethnic” shoot.
I wanted to take these photos so I could show some girls who live in Sweden but who don’t look at all like what we think Swedish girls “should” look like. All the girls who took their clothes off for me had completely different origins. Maria is half Moldovan, half Cuban, Hedvig is half Trini, half Swedish, Olga is half Italian, half Polish, Naomi is half Barbadian, half Swedish, Signe is German-Senegalese and Swedish-Norwegian, and Haddy’s parents are from Gambia.
Photographer’s assistant: Patricia Reyes; hair & makeup: Nina Belkhir / Mikas; models: Hedvig, Olga, Yana/Elite, Haddy
F/Stockholmsgruppen, Maria D/Stockholmsgruppen, Naomi, Signe.
Thank you Patricia, Sebastian and los Reyes!
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Cosabella underwear, Coming Soon by Yohji Yamamoto socks, Tanja Malo necklace
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MARIA, 19
Vice: Where did you grow up?
Maria: I moved to Sweden when I was seven, from Moldova. My mum is Moldovan and my dad is Cuban, and they met as Soviet-era exchange students in Ukraine. Moldova still feels like home.
How did you feel about your looks as a kid?
Growing up, there were very, very few dark people in Moldova. That’s changed a bit now, but it is a pretty racist country. I never felt like anyone was saying anything negative to me, but on the other hand I always thought I was white! If you grow up around light people, then that’s what you assume. I came up to my mum when I was three going, “Mummy, mummy, I’m white, aren’t I?”
What did you want to look like?
I’ve had different periods. Like the Beyoncé era, when I wanted a bigger ass. I’ve always been pulled in two different directions, the white direction and the black direction. It’s like that when you’re mixed. Or maybe not being mixed, because I always thought mulattos are pretty, but there are certain bits, like, couldn’t I just have gotten my mum’s hair? Couldn’t I just have gotten my paternal grandmother’s behind? |
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