Activist Liya Kebede on Lemlem, Financing Nonprofits for How To Spend It Magazine
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Lemlem cotton Semira shirt, $325, and polyester Semira one-piece, $250. Charlotte Chesnais gold and diamond single earring, £2,010, silver and vermeil Gia bracelet, £1,160, and vermeil Echo ring, £360 | Image: Cedric Bihr for How To Spend It Magazine.
AOC has shared numerous articles about top model Liya Kebede and her ethical brand Lemlem, produced in Ethiopia and launched in 2007. Lemlem means “to bloom” and “flourish” in Amharic, writes How To Spend It Magazine’s Alice Cavanagh about her interview with Kebede in Paris.
Kebede is always quick to underscore the reality that Lemlem was never born around the concept of a brand building. Rather, Kebede sought to use her status as a top model with connections to create opportunities for her people in Ethiopia. “What keeps me going is knowing that we’re changing people’s lives and doing something that is impacting a whole community,” she explains.
Liya Kebede on Growing Diversity in Fashion Industry
Looking for fresh insights in Kebede’s How To Spend It interview, we note a discussion about the growing subject of diversity in the fashion industry. Reflecting on the Spring 2020 shows, the most diverse shows ever held in September and October, Estee Lauder’s first black spokesmodel smiles, “Honestly, it is a lot more colourful now.” She continues:
“When I started working, there could only be one black person on every runway. That’s kind of insane. It was accepted; no one even questioned it.” Certainly, I [interviewer Alice Cavanagh} offer, we might have social media to thank for this: fashion no longer exists in a bubble, and brands and people of influence are being held accountable for everything from casting choices to greenwashing.
“I don’t buy the whole ‘You’re bad and I’m good’ thing… sometimes you screw up,” cautions Kebede. “That whole thing scares me a bit, to be honest. It propagates so much hate and intolerance.”
Lemlem polyester Semira one-piece, $250. Charlotte Chesnais silver and vermeil Gia bracelet, £1,160 | Image: Cedric Bihr for How To Spend It Magazine.
Liya Kebede’s response is noteworthy, and it reminds me of the polarized fight over white woman artist Dana Schutz’s painting of Emmett Till in the 2017 Whitney Biennial. Many black artists and academics took a position more like Kebede’s, supporting the good will and sincerity behind Schutz’s efforts.
Others barred Whitney visitors seeing the painting for days, then demanding that the artist’s museum show in Boston months later be cancelled as punishment for her painting Emmett Till. Because she dared to convey the tragedy of Till’s horrific lynching and disfigurement in the public showing of his funeral through the eyes of a white woman with a son Till’s age, she should be banned from exhibiting any paintings ever again.
Liya proceeds with caution in addressing the effect of social media on branding, models and other public figures. “I don’t buy the whole ‘You’re bad and I’m good’ thing… sometimes you screw up,” cautions Kebede. “That whole thing scares me a bit, to be honest. It propagates so much hate and intolerance.”
Liya Kebede’s Work on Maternal Health
A mother at a young age, giving birth after marrying her now ex-husband, Ethiopian hedgefund manager Kassy Kebede, Liya signed on as a WGO [World Health Organization] goodwill ambassador for maternal, newborn and child health. Her work on maternal health intersected with Christy Turlington Burns’ own foundation, bringing them together as Glamour Women of the Year. Chelsea Clinton paid homage to both women, along with Bono, who said:
Lemlem polyester Luchia triangle top, $125, and matching bottoms, $125. Charlotte Chesnais vermeil Echo ring, £360 | Image: Cedric Bihr for How To Spend It Magazine.
“It’s maddening that women are dying for no good reason. When women like Christy and Liya get organized on their behalf, things change.”
Kebede took on another challenge that remains an important topic for women worldwide, including America where FGM [female genital cutting or female genital mutilation] is on the rise, even though it’s illegal. Liya played the leading role of the 2009 biopic ‘Desert Flower’, based on the life of Somalian model and FGM survivor and spokesperson Waris Dirie.
It was her work on women’s causes that make Kebede very aware of nonprofits and grassroots organizations always looking for money. “When you’re doing aid, you’re always looking for money – it’s a never-ending cycle and there’s no [self-]sufficiency,” she says. “So the idea of making something more sustainable by employing people is the most productive: you’re empowering them, giving them independence and teaching them a skill they can use for the rest of their lives. It will go on whether you’re there or not.”
Follow more of Liya Kebede’s superb career at AOC.
