'When I pose nude, I am just doing my job'

By Stella Nassuna

KAMPALA - The second Kampala Fashion Week (KFW) seminar tackling photography and modeling was recently concluded in Kampala at the Goethe Zentrum.

Stacy Aamito Lagum, winner of Africa’s Next Top Model, and an international professional model, spoke as a guest at the seminar, and found herself on the receiving end of a number of sensitive questions about her modeling career.

How has the ongoing racism in the modeling industry affected her, came one question. Another was about her posing in the nude in some of her shoots.

“The question is, am I comfortable in my skin? – and I was. When I take nude pictures, I am not trying to present myself as a sexy person or arouse anyone in any way. I am just doing my job, and people who perceive me as seductive are the ones with the wrong mindset,” she responded.
 

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Aamito said people who see her as seductive have a wrong mindset. (Credit: Richard Sanya)

And on racism, she said: “I can say that I have been very lucky. I have not been affected by racism. If you understand the people you are working with, it becomes very easy – you do what they require you to do.”

The tall slender Ugandan model also settled questions around who had given her money for transport to Nairobi, Kenya for the Africa’s Next Top Model auditions on the road to her fame.

“My mom gave me the money, and she asked me to pay it back, which I did of course.”

Aamito auditioned in Nairobi and was one of the 12 girls chosen for the show. There were six girls from South Africa and Nigeria respectively, and one from Ghana, Tunisia, Kenya, Mozambique and Angola.

Over the 10 episodes, nine girls were evicted leaving the final three that travelled to New York for the finale.

In New York, Aamito eventually beat Michaela from Angola and Opeyemi from Nigeria and declared winner in January last year.

On top of a $50,000 (sh150m) cash reward, she won a modelling contract with New York-based DNA Model Management.

Meanwhile, more such fashion seminars are still due on the local scene: the talk on fashion internship with zero borders is slated for September 2, another on the makeup industry by Sylvia Kawalya of Mona Faces will be held on October 12, and later in November, another lecture will be on global fashion industry by LDJ Productions.