We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nelly Ferguson . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nelly below.

Nelly, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

My mission is to make every black girl whoever seen a Barbie doll and seen herself as the “ugly one “ the less desirable one to know that they can be beautiful no matter the shade of their skin. That they don’t have to be white to be pretty or beautiful to themselves and In fact as long as they believe and walk in their confidence and power of their skin it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks YOURE BEAUTIFUL. PERIODT

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Nelly and I’m 26. Just turned 26 actually so happiest birthday to me lol. I have been modeling since I graduated high school. My first fashion show was for my aunts brand Bee Free which is an organic high end clothing line with fabrics sourced from the motherland for high quality comfortable clothing. That was an amazing experience and it gave me a great sense of confidence and a thrill I never felt before. It was a moment where in my everyday struggle to accept my physical appearance, my lols were put on a pedestal and actually celebrated and welcomed and appreciated and it felt amazing and i decided i would heal my inner child with this moment and i just had to keep doing it over and over again. From there seeing others respond to seeing me someone my shade on the runway walking in her confidence and power strutting her “too dark” skin & her “too nappy” hair & her “too wide” waist to be walking in such confidence taking up such space commanding attention with all these features we are usually discarded for. If I can make more women more little boys and girls ANYBODY who’s put down or insecure about their features feel empowered confident then I would do that everyday of my life. There is such a beautiful impact you leave in the heart of others when you make them feel accepted and appreciated. That is my mission.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Actually right now I’m going through a pivotal time in my life. I just became a mom of a beautiful baby girl. She’s the best and most biggest blessing & also my biggest challenge. Not in a negative way, never; she is just so amazing and growing so beautifully and quickly . Everyday she teaches me something. I think the challenge comes from just learning the ins and outs of parenting. Not wanting to miss out on her or on opportunities to further myself while simultaneously Finding a new way to navigate being true to myself and still going after the life I want.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I must admit, Social Media is always been kind of tricky for me just cause I’m naturally shy and always hesitant to put myself out there. I remember when I made my first instagram account even before modeling and thinking “Wow ! I’m dumb late. “ & “ wtf do I even post now ??” Then I just said fck it I’m going to post wtf I want & even use this as a creative space & it actually led me to discover that hey there are ppl out there that look like you that are confident and beautiful and even being paid for it which led me to even consider modeling. From there I just decided to be my authentic self and don’t care about the opinions of others & post what I like. It seems others liked it too and that’s how I was able to build an audience on social media. Thing is a lot of people focus on trying to gain a huge following, I like an authentic audience not just ppl following me for a lil bit I like the audience to really be into my work even if it’s one person I’m doing it for im glad cause they’ll be back everytime.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: www.instagram.com/melanien.__

Image Credits
Instagram handles of photographers : 1st photo: @shotsbynachure 2,4,5 : @ninety4shotsnyc Designers: KoolKatnyc (flower suit) Zurination(tri color set) Daniels Leather (red jacket)