Aleena Khan

Meet Aleena Khan, one third of the sister trio raising awareness to cultural diversity in the beauty industry with their genderless beauty brand, CTZN Cosmetics. As a genderless beauty brand, inclusivity and equality are definitely major factors they needed to consider so Aleena shares with us its importance in today’s society:

Cosmo: Why was it important for you to have an inclusive, unisex brand?

Aleena Khan: As Pakistani women who were born in Los Angeles and grew up in Dubai, we have always had friends from all genders, sexes, races and ethnicities. What first sparked our initial passion for creating an inclusive brand was our own experience as beauty consumers; my sisters and I always felt that we never saw anyone who resembled us in make-up campaigns (the middle brown town was hardly ever represented by a South Asian or Middle Eastern model). We also felt that brands cared more about having large shade ranges but almost always missed the mark on getting the correct undertones – often because the teams behind larger brands are not diverse, or the importance of testing on multiple skin tones is ignored.

We then realised, if we – women of colour – felt underrepresented by the beauty industry, imagine how men who wear make-up must feel! Some of the top make-up artists in this industry are also male – how is the beauty industry still only defining ‘inclusive’ as ‘women of colour’? The dialogues developed and we then decided to create a genderless brand, simply for anyone who wears color cosmetics.

C: Why should beauty be genderless?

AK: We believe the beauty industry should simply cater to whoever enjoys it, rather than imposing who we think is interested in beauty products. This is why we keep our packaging neutral, in a simple black and white, so that no individual feels unwelcomed by our community.

Osama El Mootassem

Palestinian-Canadian designer, Osama El Mootassem is the founder of inclusive and genderless brand, nvr frgttn, of which inclusivity and diversity are too major philosophies.

Cosmo: Why should fashion have no gender?

Osama: The concept of fashion being split amongst genders feels so outdated to me. That is why I created nvr frgttn. The messaging behind my brand is to allow absolutely anybody to express themselves through my clothing. I aimed to create pieces that could be worn by all and are not limited to any one type of person or individual. I never ever want anyone to feel left out. The thought of someone not being accepted simply for who they are is wild to me. Everyone should be able to freely express and live as whoever they are. This whole initiative is amazing and I’m so glad that Cosmo is shining a light on the trans community in the region.

Cosmo: How can people do better?

O: There seems to be an immediate wall or barrier that goes up as soon as someone mentions that they’re trans. People need to be more receptive, understanding and compassionate. People need to listen to the stories of our trans brothers and sisters and really get a sense of what it’s like to be in their shoes.

V Shawn Beauty

Shawn Beauty, aka Vishan, is a dubai-based MUA who slays with amazing looks on Instagram and Youtube. This is what he had to sau about Transgender Awareness Week:

Cosmo: Did you face any backlash or bullying when you started posting about make-up? 

Vishan: Yes. Being a boy put me at a disadvantage as it was not normalised in our society. My confidence deteriorated, but I never gave up as I knew that I wanted to pursue my passion. This helped me to inspire many people out there who were scared to embrace themselves.

C: Do you think it’s important to have global movements like Transgender Awareness Week? 

V: Yes! Transgender Awareness Week is important because it allows people to take action and help society to realise that transgender people are equally as important in sharing stories and experiences. Transgender awareness week helps to shape and educate society about what trans people are all about. This week marks all those who have faced injustice and hate simply for the fact that they took pride in being who they are. Transgender Awarenesses Week is necessary so that the trans youth out there get the resources to understand how they feel, explore their identities, and find others like them. They should know that they’re not alone and there are people like them around the world.Â