MALAIK A FIRTH
With her ethereal grace and striking features, the British-Kenyan model is at the vanguard of fashion’s new mood. By Lesley Thomas
‘I really do love modelling,’ says Malaika Firth. ‘For me it’s like dancing, performing. I’m not a great talker, so expressing myself physically is a joy.’ It is this gentle exuberance, coupled with feline elegance, that has propelled her to the peak of her profession. At 22, Malaika has starred in campaigns for Calvin Klein and Prada and lit up the catwalk for Miu Miu and Yves Saint Laurent during the latest shows. Like Kate, Cara and Jourdan, she has been awarded the ultimate accolade of global recognition by her first name only.
Yet what truly drives Bazaar’s Model of the Year is simply the desire to look after her parents and brother. ‘They are everything to me,’ she says. ‘I am the only one working, and I am so happy about that. My dad has worked so hard and now he can relax.’
Clearly, Malaika’s celestial qualities are more than skin deep. She takes her earnings back to the parental home in Barking, and recently bought a second residence for the family in Mombasa, where she lived until she was seven. Her mother still accompanies her to catwalk shows, where they sometimes engage the backstage scrum in a group prayer. Even her name is Swahili for ‘angel’. ‘I chose it myself,’ she says. ‘There was another model with my name – Tamara – when I was starting, so I had to pick a new one. I love it that I have a work name. Malaika is the more confident side of me.’
Malaika is representative of a dramatic and encouraging recent shift in perceptions of beauty in the fashion industry. When she was recruited to feature in Prada’s 2013 advertising campaign, she was the first black model to do so for almost 20 years. Her predecessor, of course, was Naomi Campbell, whom Malaika describes as her ‘idol’. ‘I was so happy to be compared to her.’ Nowadays, it is rare that she is the solitary nonwhite face in a fashion shoot or show, and she is proud to have become a role model herself. ‘It’s great there are so many more [black] girls up there now,’ she says. ‘This is important.’
Lesley Thomas is the weekend editor and beauty director of The Times.