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For as long as she can remember, Indigenous Brazilian model Zaya Guarani has been highly aware of climate change.
The 22-year-old was born in Brazil’s Porto Velho, the capital city of Rondônia, located near the Madeira River in the Amazon. Her native state is now part of what’s known as the Amazonian Arc of Deforestation—a rapidly disappearing tropical forest caused by the logging and mining industries—which drove her family to frequently bounce from one territory to the next. “I was raised in the middle of a war, between [us and] loggers and miners,” Zaya tells Vogue. She observed the increase in deforestation as “construction companies were discovering the rich, natural resources in the Amazon. When I was a kid, my grandmother lost her whole territory.”
It makes sense why Zaya—a member of the Kamurape and Guarani Mbya ethnicities—has made environmental activism a big part of her growing platform. Coming from a family of strong women that she describes as “leaders and shamans,” the New York City–based model has witnessed firsthand the devastating effects of climate change on her native country and now feels a duty to use her moment in the spotlight to continue her advocacy. “This industry brings a lot of visibility,” says Zaya, who has appeared in the pages of Vogue Brazil and was awarded the fashion-influencer-of-the-year accolade at this week’s Latin American Fashion Awards. “It’s a job that I can use to bring something bigger—a revolution.”
Zaya got her start in fashion when she was just 17, after she moved to São Paulo to pursue modeling. There, she was quickly signed by Ford and became the agency’s first Indigenous face. “That was history, because I didn’t just start to get into fashion—I started consulting with clients and explaining to them that we want more [Indigenous] representation,” says Zaya. “We don’t want stereotypes. We want people with real stories and identities.”
Since then, Zaya has signed with CAA, and she’s modeled for brands such as Ugg and Gucci Westman. She was also a front-row fixture during fashion month and recently starred in the film Postcard From Earth, directed by Darren Aronofsky.
Regardless of who she’s worked with, Zaya has aimed to bring her Indigenous experiences and stories to the forefront of all her projects. She’s also intentional about who she collaborates with. “I don’t want to work with [a fast fashion brand],” says Zaya. “But if they come to me and say they want help to change their brand, then I want to be a part of that.” On the side, Zaya serves as an advisor to The Slow Factory and the United Nations, where she hopes to spread awareness about her Indigenous culture and how her people’s cultural teachings can help combat climate change. “One of my goals is [to make sure] Indigenous people are included in decision-making,” says Zaya. “I believe that there’s [no earth] without us anymore. We know sustainable ways of living, and we are not different from nature—we are the same thing.”
Zaya certainly brings a fresh perspective—and look—to the fashion industry in particular, which still has long ways to go in terms of mainstream Indigenous representation. One of her most distinctive features is Zaya’s Jenipapo tattoos—a traditional, non-temporary Amazonian skin-decoration technique using black ink from the Jenipapo fruit. “The ink is used in many rituals and acts as a second skin,” says Zaya. “It’s really powerful: It stays for more than 15 days. We paint our bodies how we feel: We paint when we are happy, sad, or when someone dies. It’s also a form of protection.” Often Zaya also sports her traditional cultural attire to industry events—such as her signature bird-feathered earrings, made by a close friend. “Birds give us the power of knowledge,” says Zaya of her intentional feathered jewelry. “Birds see everything from the sky: They know everything. We believe they’re from another dimension.”
As her star continues to rise, Zaya will continue fighting for climate reform in whatever spaces she can. She says it’s especially refreshing to do this in an area like fashion, however, where models haven’t always been encouraged to speak up and take stances on major cultural or political issues. “I want the industry to [continue to] change,” says Zaya. “I want all these girls to have space and a voice. It’s great to see models speaking loud and not being silenced anymore.”