The Fame Issue
It would be shallow to attribute her success to the 5-feet-long legs of the international model, Maria Borges.
Beauty is fundamental, as Vinicius de Moraes said, but it’s not enough. For the Angolan woman who flew very high, fame — a term that, by the way, she doesn’t appreciate — is the result of a lot of work, dedication and prayer. Maria is a woman of faith — and faith has done nothing but repay her in kind. Vogue Portugal spoke to this supermodel, in every sense of the word.
She is six feet tall. The legs are so high that they seem to have no end. As soon as I see her break through the newsroom premises, I realize that I have to stand on tiptoes to greet her — me, from my then short height, five feet eight inches. She appears exactly as we are used to seeing her: with that very short haircut that has become the image of the Maria Borges brand. “I love my hair,” she confirms. “We must always embrace who we are: accept myself, in this case with my natural hair, so that the market accepts me as I am.” And it was a winning formula, or we wouldn’t be sitting here talking to the top model right now. She was born on October 28, 1992, in Luanda, Angola, and wanted to be a doctor. Life changed her ways and, at the age of 17, even though she didn't win, she was featured in the first Elite Model Look Angola contest. As naturally as she took the almost win, she arrived in Portugal for a short stay — the country turned out to be too small for her giant legs and dreams of identical proportions. “Maria, you’re going far”, they told her. And she did. Encouraged by several professionals in the field, including model Ana Sofia Martins, she decides to head to New York. At just 18 years old, she lands in the city that never sleeps without knowing how to speak English: “My English was basic. The weather was also a difficulty — I arrived in February and didn't know how to protect myself from the cold. I was cold, I was hungry, I got lost in the subways of New York,” she recalls. But she never thought about giving up, “all thanks to God’s strength and an unusual drive that keeps me going.” Success was not long in coming. Borges was one of the six models who starred on the cover of the May 2017 special edition — the Swimsuit Issue — of Elle U.S. In 1997, South Sudanese Alek Wek — who by no chance shares the same haircut — had already appeared on the cover of the magazine. “It's something surreal what I managed to achieve, an Angolan model being able to reach where I have…” Words of gratitude are a constant in her speech. The faith that moves her and the strength she draws from it. And, always, honesty: “Beauty is fundamental, intelligence is important. But I think there is something really dominant about success, which is being yourself.” And what is it like to be Maria Borges? I say: “I was always very transparent, I always showed who Maria Borges was.” A small big detail: this was the second model in history to have wings in her first fashion show for the lingerie giant, Victoria's Secret — the first was Brazilian Adriana Lima. “I didn’t even have a signed contract. The models of my time started in the [brand branch] Pink and only then moved up. But they told me: ‘Maria, with your height you have to carry these long wings.’ It was a good opportunity.” A good opportunity, she exposes it with immense simplicity, as if half the world wouldn't kill themselves to get a place in the sun in the house that hosted the greatest beauty shows in the history of Fashion. Because Maria is just like that: feet on the ground, fixed ideas, determined, little dazzled. After my insistence on her slightness, she adds: “Victoria’s Secret really offers an opportunity for unique stability and also for status, for visibility… I did five consecutive Victoria’s Secret shows.” And, despite preferring Haute Couture, she is aware that the Victoria's Secret universe, being more commercial, brings another type of income. I take the opportunity to address the crisis that the 'house of angels' has gone through in recent years and the model once again offers me that human facet of hers, very balanced, extremely fair and unquestionably honest: “Those were good times when Victoria's Secret was in peak. Life is made of ups and downs, so it's important to support, especially when you're down. And also knowing how to recognize the importance it had at that time. It was a historic milestone, there will never be another show like Victoria’s Secret.”
Naturally thin (all thanks to excellent and enviable genetics, she emphasizes), Borges highlights the importance of body diversity in fashion, “something that the Victoria’s Secret team, at that time, did not know how to embrace. We started to see other brands 'push' for other body standards... It's risky for a lingerie brand not to embrace this diversity. It’s not about Haute Couture, lingerie is something that everyone wears.” Her wings, of course, made her fly so high that, in the blink of an eye, fame came — a word that Maria makes it clear she doesn't like to use. “I prefer the term ‘public figure’ to refer to someone who ‘has a lot of followers’. Because I associate fame with doom, madness, anything ‘without limits’. Just like getting to where you want to go without respecting the laws of society”, she explains. “If I were given the choice between fame and ‘fairness’ I would always choose ‘fairness’.” On the other hand, she is fully aware that it was this “fame” that brought her the financial stability she so desired. I reiterate and add that the so-called fame came as a consequence of her hard work. Contrary to what happens so much these days, Maria did not work for fame. This is not a case of not knowing very well who arrived first, the chicken or the egg. Here the equation is clear as water: recognition for her work came first, fame later. Her rational and very “adult” side emerges once again: “It is important to understand that not all ‘the world’ lasts forever in this life [of fame]. It is important to know how to put up barriers when we think something is no longer working. The truth is that nothing lasts forever.” It reinforces your thought that fame requires a perfect balance and equilibrium. “I’ve seen a lot of people lose themselves ‘in fame’ (in alcohol or drugs). Fame always makes us want more. If I didn't concentrate I would never realize that this 'more' doesn't exist. We must know how to be happy with what we have — waking up with the desire to make things happen, yes, but always expecting more? Sometimes the universe doesn't even give us that 'more', because sometimes time is everything — and the universe is always right. Everything happens at the right time. Timing is the answer for everything”.
It would be impossible to talk about fame and fashion without bringing up the topic of nepotism: the Jenners, the Hadids, and so on. Maria considers that everyone has their own purpose, lineage, vision, and that all of these are valid and acceptable. “I had a goal, which was financial stability. And I didn’t have a back-up plan. Many of my colleagues already have such financial stability. Therefore, they only need fame, which becomes their greatest interest, their focus.” However, she reinforces that the industry needs this balance. “Fashion is for everyone. They [that group of models] make the market, too. The market needs this diversity.” Despite her fame and immeasurable success, the greatest gift that life gave her arrived on October 28, 2021, on her birthday, precisely: her daughter Athena. “It really was a gift from God, the greatest gift the universe sent me.” She says that it wasn't easy — just as motherhood never is — especially because she divorced shortly after the birth of her daughter. However, as an organized person that she proves to be, it is clear that she was very prepared for motherhood in a financial sense: “Children are an investment, yes”, she concludes. And today she begins to understand what “being a mother” means. She will look for support in her friends, whom she calls family, and in her own family. But little Athena is already gaining some habits — after all, life cannot stop: “My daughter understands me. She understands the energy in which I move. We took our first trip from Miami to New York, then Los Angeles, and finally Europe — Paris and Lisbon — all in one week. She loved it.” Maria has a particular sensitivity towards children, as well as a very strong humanitarian side: “I grew up motherless and had an absent father. My intention is, therefore, to strengthen the orphan community.” And she adds: “I was always that missionary person — I studied in the Catholic church and grew up in the Catholic church, with all those principles. And these were very important, the learning I got from there. I learned that in this life it's about giving and receiving, not just receiving. In this way, I embarked on philanthropy.” She hopes to establish her foundation for orphaned children in New York and take the best work she can do for these children to her home, Angola. To Maria, a 15-year-old orphan, today I would say the following: “You did very well in not being afraid of life; ups and downs happen; get up whenever you can and walk with dignity and poise. And say thank you, always — even to those people who did you wrong.” As for young people who dream of a career à la Maria Borges, the words are more practical and incisive, like the excellent professional that she is: “Learn about the market. Nowadays I'm an agent — I founded a talent agency in my country — and I noticed that this part is missing, there's a lack of information. They [young people] just want to be famous, but they don't know what fame brings. And, to be able to fly, they need information.”
Translated from the original on The Fame Issue, published October 2023. Full credits and stories in the print issue.
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