Physically flawless at 55, Iman is still best known as a supermodel. So, it might surprise people to learn that her eponymous cosmetics company is 15 years old and thriving under her watchful eye. Iman, who graced BE’s September 2006 cover with fellow supermodel-entrepreneur Tyra Banks, has begun to diversify her personal brand, recently launching fashion and home fabric collections and joining designer Isaac Mizrahi as co-host of Bravo’s The Fashion Show. Iman, a mother of two, calls Iman Cosmetics “her baby†and insists that the company will be her greatest legacy.
How did modeling prepare you for your current position as a CEO?
Modeling is not just fun and flair and pretty pictures. If you want to survive as a model, you have to be a good businesswoman and understand that your pictures are your currency. So that came in handy. But as a CEO, nobody cares how I look. Now, what comes out of my mouth is my currency.
Did the industry expect you to be just a figurehead?
Yes, from the first day that I started people thought that I was just the name that they were [going to] use. I’m not only the CEO of this company, I’m also a part owner. [People thought] if you’re a model and a woman, you must not know what you’re talking about. I have no problem asking for help and men will sometimes think, “Oh, it’s so sweet that she’s asking for help.†But they have no idea [I’m asking] because I’ll be their competitor the next day.
Which comes more naturally to you?
It’s more natural for me to run this business. I have a mind that I’m very proud to possess and use. And, as a Somali, we’re naturally merchants.
You seem to bring extraordinary confidence to everything you do. Where does that come from?
My parents. I remember as young as 7 or 8, my mom telling me, “Always know your worth. Don’t ever settle for less.†So, I arrived in America at 18 years of age with that. There was a huge discrepancy between what they were paying black models and what they paid white models. I was the first black model who said, “I’m not going to do any job unless I get paid the same amount.â€
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Your Global Chic accessories line is a best-seller on the Home Shopping Network. Were you surprised at that success?
I was very surprised because it’s a totally different arena [where] people either respond to you or they don’t. So I was glad that they responded to me, but it’s very tricky.
You’re now doing reality TV and you have several entrepreneurial ventures in the works. Are you afraid when you go into these new areas that people might not respond?
There are people who say failure is not an option. I’m not scared to fail, because it gives me the opportunity for change. And change is good, regardless of what form it comes in, because it makes you really observe and reorganize and rethink your life. So, no, new ventures are not scary in that way. I always ask two things: Is it authentic and could it harm my cosmetics? Because that’s my baby. I’d rather be remembered for Iman Cosmetics than anything else.
Why?
Before I was a model, I majored in political science. That was always my passion. With Iman Cosmetics, I wanted to tackle the politics of beauty. I wanted to change people’s notions about what beautiful was. In 1992 when I was thinking of putting the brand on the market, I started to research it. The Census Bureau was my bible. I [realized] there was a browning of America and I wanted to be part of it. I’m not saying that I created the first brand of black [products], but it was the first brand that literally was multicultural. So that’s a different kind of ball game. This is very personal for me. Nothing will ever touch that.