Zinnia Kumar

Zinnia Kumar is an Australian fashion model, scientist and advocate. She speaks, writes and researches on women's empowerment, diversity, mental health, human behavioural ecology and sustainability. In addition to her work in fashion and activism, she is a researcher, ecologist and a psychologist.

Career

Fashion modelling

Kumar has appeared on magazine covers for ''Vogue Australia, Harpers Bazaar Australia, Vogue India, Russh, Jones, CAP74024, Love Want, More or Less'' and ''Porter'' which called her a 'Force of Nature'. Kumar rose to prominence as the first South Asian Australian and first Indian to cover Vogue Australia in 62 years. Kumar was recognised in 2019 as one of "the 50 Most Influential Global Indians" by Vogue India and in 2021 was nominated as a "Social Mover and change maker" by models.com.

Kumar has since 2019 featured in publications ''Russh, Interview Magazine, Another Magazine, British Vogue, Vogue China, Vogue Singapore, Vogue France, Vogue Italia, Vogue Germany, Vogue Korea, CAP74024,'' ''Vogue India'''', Vogue Australia,'' ''Harpers Bazaar'' (US), '' Harpers Bazaar Australia'' and walked shows for ''Dior, Jacquemus and Vivienne Westwood'' among others.

Noted for her sense of style, combining vintage and vamp aesthetics, Kumar has attended red carpets and sat front row at ''Miu Miu, Chanel, Rabanne, Victoria Beckham, Jacquemus, Mugler, Boss, Ellie Saab, Balenciaga,'' ''British Fashion Awards'', the ''Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre'' opening and the ''Paris Opera Ballet'' charity gala. In 2022, Kumar created a viral sustainable red carpet moment for the British Fashion Awards, wearing an upcycled Yohji Yamamoto dress and sustainable diamonds from Chopard.

In film she has featured in ''Wonder Woman'' as an Amazonian warrior.

Zinnia Kumar’s path to modelling was far from straightforward. Initially scouted, she faced rejection from every agency in her birth country due to her race. Australian agencies bluntly stated, “We only take Anglos or half-Anglos,” and dismissed her. Frustrated by racism, Zinnia abandoned her modelling aspirations and relocated to the UK to study. In the UK, she was signed as a model.

Entrepreneurship

Kumar co-founded The Dotted Line which was a social impact-driven advertising agency applying psychology with creativity to mindfully shift sustainability and diversity norms within the fashion industry.

Advocacy

Sustainability and environmentalism

Zinnia's environmentalism work covers conservation, ecology, sustainability and fashion. Primarily communicating via keynotes and talks, podcasts, interviews, journalism and consulting with organisations. She has presented for ''G20, FIT NY'''', British Fashion Council, Vogue, Cancer Council, Australasian Evolution Society, Design Council'''', Australian Museum, The Australian, CFS+'', ''Save Soil'', ''Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC)'', ''Harvard Medical School'' among others. Her talks have covered prevention of eco fatigue, eco-anxiety, sustainability meeting inclusion supporting organisational sustainable staff against burnout, sustainable innovation for change, green scepticism among others.

Kumar is the first ecologist to cover any international edition of Vogue Magazine in 128 years. She presented, wrote, co-directed and produced a three part documentary series focussing on technological sustainable innovations in the fashion industry.

She is a field conservation ecologist accredited by the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Managers, and worked with Little Blue Penguins, invertebrates and wetland birds for organisations such as the New South Wales Environment Protection Authority, Birdlife and the Australian Department of Environment primarily in the Australian outback.

Diversity, inclusion and beauty

Kumar's keynote talks and research covers diversity, equity, inclusion, social belonging, racism, sexual attraction and colorism; her work has been published in scientific journals and featured on TV, talks and print journalism. She published research looking at negative frequency dependant selection on human attractiveness, researching men's beards and women's hair colour under the social condition of rarity; her research coined the cultural phenomenon of ' Peak beard'.

In 2020 Zinnia became a member of the Vogue Values Diversity Council after presenting a case to News Corp and Vogue Australia about the lack of historic diversity at the publication. During her role as councillor she gave keynote talk at Vogue Codes on the origins of beauty stereotypes originating in scientific racism titled "''The politics of beauty: Science, identity and representation in media''". She also advocated for the first dark skinned indigenous Australian, actress Magnolia Maymuru, the first Indian actress, Priyanka Chopra and the first Korean-Australian, singer Roseanne Park to be on the cover of Australian Vogue for the first time in 62 years. In 2021 Zinnia was nominated by models.com as a Social Mover and Change Maker.

Zinnia has spoken about the glass ceiling and stereotypes Indian and South Asian models continue to face within the fashion industry. She has personally scouted and mentored minority background models, which led her to co-found boutique management firm In the fashion industry for racial minority talent.

Women's empowerment

For her humanitarian work, empowering disadvantaged girls in Australia, India and Thailand through direct educational mentorship and motivation, she was awarded a Rotary Youth Leadership Award and was selected as a youth ambassador for the Australian Government, ''Department of Foreign Affairs''.

Kumar researched the psychological disempowerment of women from colorism in India. She has talked colorism appearing implicitly in beauty advertising and casting, affecting victims psychologically and socio-economically, a factor leading 1000's of women per year worldwide to suicide, urging brands to increase dark skin representation.

For her social impact entreprenurship, research and advocacy, Zinnia Kumar was invited to deliver the keynote special address at the G20 Empower conference in Gujarat, India in 2023. Zinnia spoke of the importance of female mentorship as an integral part of empowerment and belief building for disadvantaged girls. Zinnia's mentor at the time was Shelly Zalis.

Personal life

Zinnia Kumar was born in Sydney, Australia and grew up in Sydney's south-western suburbs. She is a 5th generation Indian immigrant from the Girmitiya community, and her family have lived in Oceania since 1879. She has North Indian, South Indian & East Indian ancestry.

Zinnia has Asperger syndrome. She had severe social anxiety and over came it by training in speaking and presenting at the National Institute of Dramatic Art and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, she has been a member of ''Toastmasters International (Public Speaking Society)'' for a decade and is a member of The Oxford Union.

She attended a disadvantaged public high school and self learned her final year studies. Zinnia Kumar attended University of New South Wales for a Bachelor of Advanced Science, in Ecology and Human Evolutionary Biology with First Class honours, she matriculated at ''Brasenose College,'' Oxford University for an ''MPhil in Modern South Asian Studies,'' and holds an MSc in Industrial, Organisational and Business Psychology from University College London.

Authored articles

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"Negative frequency-dependent preferences and variation in male facial hair"
''Biology letters (Royal Society).'' 1 April 2014

"Are Preferences for Women’s Hair Color Frequency-Dependent?"
''Adaptive Human Behaviour and Physiology.'' 19 September 2014

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Zinnia
21st-century Australian actresses
Australian biologists
Australian female models
Australian media personalities
Australian people of Indian descent
Australian autistic people
Living people
Models from Sydney
Models with disabilities
University of New South Wales alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)