Winning the first season of Africa’s Next Top Model in 2013 thrust Aamito Lagum to international stardom and cemented her position in the world of fashion. The 26-year-old from Kitgum District who was raised by a single mother, went on to make history by becoming the first black model to open Balenciaga. Aamito started her modelling career in Uganda at the age of 16, with Arapapa before landing a contract with DNA Management and relocating to New York, US. She made her Fashion Week debut at New York Fashion Week in 2015 and since then her star has never stopped rising. She has walked for some of the world’s most powerful fashion houses like Balenciaga, Alexander Wang, Marc Jacobs, Kanye West, among others and has graced covers of the world’s most prestigious magazines like Allure, Vogue, Marie Claire, Vanity Fair, Harper’s Bazaar, among others. So what makes her tick? Here are some of the success clues we have singled out from her previous interviews.
1. FOLLOW YOUR INTUITION AND LEAVE NO ROOM FOR REGRETS
You want something so bad and your inner voice keeps pushing you to go for it? Please listen to it and follow through, so you don’t get to regret later. Aamito pleaded with her mum who wasn’t a fan of her career choice, for permission to go for her “last” audition to Nairobi in 2012 and if she didn’t book the job, she promised her she would give up. Her mum consented and luckily for her it ended up giving her the career breakthrough she so much craved for.
She told Elle in 2017,
“I auditioned for Africa’s Next Top Model to give myself piece of mind that I have tried, I didn’t want to look back with regrets. I told my mum, ‘This is the last audition I do, I’m not going to talk about it anymore if you just let me go to this audition’.”
2. DREAM BIG BUT WORK HARDER
Dreaming is the first step, taking action and hard work is what bridges the gap between your reality and dreams. Aamito is an action oriented person as she states in a 2015 interview with Okay Africa Magazine,
“I have always been ambitious as a person but the difference is I don’t just dream, I do”.
And in an interview with i-D magazine, she advises,
“Do not just dream, do. We all have been at the age where we own something in our sleep; the man of our dreams, the job of our dreams, the shoes of our dreams… Thing is, your backs won’t afford bigger beds if you don’t work for them. And believe me you, bigger beds give bigger dreams.”
3. PRACTISE
Practise your craft every minute that you get even when you look stupid. We swoon over Aamito whenever she takes the runways, her effortlessly graceful catwalk is something to die for, but she didn’t just wake up one morning having it all, she has had to put in many years of practise to perfect it.
She tells wwd in 2015,
“At the agency, I really look stupid every time somebody gets out of the elevator and watches me practicing my walk in my heels. It’s so awkward. But you gotta do what you gotta do”.
4. FINANCIAL PATIENCE
Money shouldn’t be at the forefront of your mind when starting out, just do your best, perfect your craft, when you are at your best, money will ALWAYS fall in. Aamito was paid peanuts when starting out to the point that her mother told her to give up, study and become a lawyer so she can earn enough money but she persisted knowing her sacrifice would eventually pay off.
Still in her interview with wwd, she recounts,
“Every time I would have a modelling gig, I would have to ask my mum, ‘Can I have some money to go to the gig?’ And she would be like ‘What is the point of all this? This is not going to take you anywhere. I need you to go to college, get your degree and become a lawyer or whatever you want to become, to be able to support yourself.”
5. SELF LOVE IS IMPORTANT
While you work tirelessly for your dreams to materialize, do not neglect yourself; put you first. In a 2017 interview with Elle, Aamito revealed that she always takes herself to a fancy dinner at least once a month.
“I live with my flat mate Jess, a dancer from Uganda. We promise ourselves at least once a month that we go on a date just the two of us – we get dressed up, take a taxi to a beautiful restaurant, order the tasting menu, drink a lot of wine, tip the waiter. It’s our treat.”
6. USE YOUR TALENT TO SERVE
Serve. Serve. Serve. Your talent is your gift to the world and you only leave a legacy through serving. You have to use your talent to not just your benefit but most importantly, to the benefit of those around you. Aamito said in a 2017 interview with Elle,
“Modeling has given me a louder voice and I want that to be impactful in a positive way, whether it’s empowering to women or young girls I want my voice to bring about something positive. It’s about using your position of influence to make a difference”.
And indeed she has. In 2017, she collaborated with Joram Model Management and held the first modelling masterclass in Uganda where she got to share her expert knowledge about modelling with aspiring and working models.
7. VISUALIZE YOUR DREAMS
Embrace the power of visualization. Aamito used to visualize her life as a model before she was even one. Speaking during her 2017 Model Master Class in Kampala, she told the audience, that she once wrote somewhere that she had to win a competition, at the time she singled out ‘Face Of Africa’ but fast forward, a few years later, she went on to become the first winner of Africa’s Next Top Model.
8. SUPPORT SYSTEM
Its quite hard to keep grounded in this social media era where just like a nose, everyone seems to have an opinion about you and most times, its negative. It’s important to surround yourself with people you share deep rooted organic relationships with.
Aamito says in her interview with Elle,
“You have to remind yourself of who you are by the people you surround yourself with. Social media can get you down; you have people saying negative things about you when they don’t even know who you are. For me, I have my mum and she reminds me of the journey I have been on and how far I have come, when you appreciate those amazing moments you forget the one moment that got you down.”
9. STRIVE FOR MORE
Never get comfortable and stop dreaming. Even when you feel you have made it, there’s always another step to take you further on your star’s rise. Despite all her achievements, Aamito wants more as she states in an interview with i-D magazine.
“I see myself as a global brand. Even then, I still want to be as ambitious as I was three years ago, long before Africa’s Next Top Model was a reality. I want to be a ten year upgrade of the current me. I want to take on new challenges with a learning curiosity so I can be the happy cat when it is all done.”
Source: Elle, i-D, wwd.com and Alright Africa Magazine.
