Elaine Palacio Mosquera was no exception to that universal rule in which no one is a prophet in their land. She was born in Puerto Boyacá on October 27, 2001 and in her teens she settled in Medellín to try to materialize her dream of modeling on catwalks and being on the cover of fashion magazines.
But the fortune was not there, but in New York, where –by those things of fate– a photograph of him arrived and his Afro features captivated several designers.
In Medellín the opportunities were scarce. She was just an oversized Afro-Colombian girl with an eclipsing beauty, trying to learn how to glide down the catwalk without falling. Along this path of learning, one day he visited Colombiamoda, the Colombian fashion fair, where one of his friends took a couple of photos of him and sent them to the United States. The next day, a prestigious modeling firm wanted her on her team.
The international catwalks were the next stop. For her, one of her most relevant campaigns was being part of the special edition ‘Black Lives Matter’ and becoming the first Afro-Colombian to be on the cover of Vogue Italia magazine in 2020.
Editing wasn’t just photography. The publication also took an interest in Elaine’s life. The deployment was so great that, in an exception seen shortly before, the interview was conducted in Spanish and then translated into at least five languages.
Why were you so interested in the story of this Afro-Colombian model? Elaine was born on the border between Boyacá and Antioquia, one of the areas most affected by violence and drug trafficking. Her childhood was like that of the average young people in that place: without many luxuries, with unpaved streets, little access to higher education and the bounties of nature that could not be taken away by the violent. Elaine is an example of overcoming and tenacity.
After the publication in Vogue, other doors were opened. Victoria’s Secret made her one of their catalog models. With that signature she has paraded at the Fashion Week in Paris and Milan. Also, Burberry, the prestigious British fashion house, chose her as the image for one of its international campaigns. It has also paraded the creations of designers such as Carolina Herrera, Alexander Wang, Jonathan Queen, Victoria Heels, among others.
Not everything was rosy
Adversities always appear on the road to success. When Elaine arrived in New York, her adaptation was difficult due to her poor command of English at that time, the limited economic resources she had, and the culture of the people with whom she initially lived. “She lost Me and was alone,” she said.
He says he suffered workplace harassment. Her first manager harassed her because of her weight, they constantly called her “fat”. Those initial days of her in the United States were marked by a deep depression that led her to make an attempt on her life: tired of the harassment, she Elaine swallowed a pack of pills. She then became obsessed with exercise and would sometimes not eat for up to three days.
When he thought that everything was lost, the great opportunity of Victoria Beckham appeared. Elaine, the girl from Puerto Boyacá, was the first Colombian to belong to this prestigious modeling firm. In addition, she became the image of the campaign with which she ventures into the universe of cosmetics, her new Victoria Beckham beauty line.
The British designer found in the boyacense the perfect face and the precise features for her makeup line, which is characterized by being soft, fresh, youthful and inspired by pink tones. It was an incredible experience after a long and rigorous casting process for the model, who continues to advance by leaps and bounds in the global fashion industry and, without a doubt, an important stepping stone after working with giants like Moschino.
“The first campaign I did was the sportswear campaign in 2021. In that I was chosen by Victoria Beckham directly. For this second casting, there were almost 500 models waiting to be chosen, and to stay again was something special, thank God”, Elaine said.
As a girl who is playing the model, she feels happy with the makeup campaign. “Every week we advance with a product, we already made the line of lipsticks; in fact, I have a lot of those (laughs).” This hard work is being launched through social networks, in which the professionalism of the Afro-Colombian can be seen.
“It is super nice and motivating that one returns to work with that woman who is so special and important to multitudes of people. Sometimes one sees things very far away, but they are there, one has to fight for the things one wants to represent”. That is the premise of Elaine, who motivates where she gets with her story, with her effort, with her charisma and truth.
She is happy, proud of being Afro-Colombian and of her land, for which she also works tirelessly through the Fundación Negros de Corazón, created by her to encourage young people to be busy doing cultural and sports activities. Her wish is to see the youth of Puerto Boyacá grow up on big stages.
And his social work goes further: now he is betting on bringing down racism in his territory. “I have suffered it, but I don’t pay much attention to it, I continue on my way. Rather, I believe that there is still a need for more presence of black women on the catwalks. I long to be seen as the majority and not as a minority. That is the fight that all black models and black models carry out within the industry”, he assured.
It’s just that Elaine doesn’t just think of herself, she considers others. In addition to that, her charm and fun personality have opened the doors to different projects, such as InStyle magazine in the United States, one of the most demanding covers she has been able to do on production issues: it was full of rhinestones and strong makeup for which your team needed hours of work.
This publication made reference to makeup styles, new trends and the extravagance in the styling of modern times. It was directed by Raoúl Alejandre, Valentino’s official make-up artist and who explored her creativity in the beautiful face of Elaine Palacio.
When asked about his dreams, he assured that God has given him everything in his hands, including one that was very close to his heart: to be part of the Tommy Hilfiger fashion house, campaign that has not come out, but in which she shared with personalities that as a child she only saw on television.
On this occasion, he worked alongside Kate Moss, a model with a long run on the catwalks since the 1990s, and drummer Travis Barker also participated. He asserted that every day more dreams are added, more goals. She finds herself with open arms, ready to receive more than what she has harvested so far.
She dedicates these achievements to her grandmother, to Puerto Boyacá, to that friend who photographed her and to each person who has been part of this path to the catwalks, a fantasy that she hopes will not end.