From Combat to Contour

Finish this sentence with the first word the comes to mind: “Military women are___.” I’m willing to bet that your chosen word was something along the lines of “strong,” “brave,” or “amazing.” What society doesn’t know is that we are all of that and more. We are fashionistas, moguls, and inspirations as well. If you take the time to look deeper into the personalities, values and aspirations of military women, we are some of the most diverse individuals to grace this planet. I, for example, serve my country everyday, and still manage to slay the runway! On March 30th 2017, I was hand-selected by Supermodel Karlie Kloss as the first African-American active duty service member, to rip the runway for her clothing line campaign with Express INC. It was such an exhilarating experience!  Each step I took ignited a fire inside of me wanting to prove to the world, that military women are also bold & fierce! Military women are multifaceted. We are fashion designers, singers, actresses, models, make-up artists, hairstylists, moms, wives and more. But, because of the very sacrifice we chose to make, people recognize the uniform before they recognize our talent and abilities.

There is great pride that comes with wearing the uniform, and we feel the love from the community each and every time we are “thanked for our service”, but being a woman in the military does not take away from the fact that we also have goals and dreams that society isn’t aware of. For example, military fatigue worn by models on the runway is very common but if that model was an actual service member, what kind of statement of inclusivity would that make? We see movies where the female military role is played by an actress, why not cast a military woman who can also
act? It’s not because society doesn’t think we are capable of such roles it’s simply because they
do not know that we are….until now.

When you think of military women, you don’t think high fashion, commercial, or cover girl, but I am one of many proving that you can!  My single mission is to build a platform to help bridge the gap between military women and society’s image of who they are. An organization that allows women who serve to share their true passions and stories with the world while also reshaping the ideals of
what it truly means to be a woman in the United States Armed Forces.

We are some of the most diverse individuals to grace this planet!

Written by Tiara Sevon

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