Mona M. Ali Is Making Change in Stockholm’s Fashion Community

What is the mission of Fiiri?
With Fiiri, the only thing I’m trying to do is showcase the people of color, the people that have been ignored and unseen, and showcase all the different faces really, not just the typical blond, blue-eyed [ones]. We’re trying to remove that stereotype and showcase all the amazing people that we have in Scandinavia.

What was the tipping point that led to Fiiri’s founding?

When I came back in 2019 [after a decade in London], I just felt like so much was still the same. I was hoping to wait at least a year or two before I started the agency, but coming back and not even being able to get a job, with my experience and my degree, I was beyond surprised. It was pretty crazy to me. I was like, this is people not seeing us. People are not hearing us. We’re not being able to get the space that we deserve. I just wanted to find all the POC creatives and everybody who works in fashion, including the models, to have this environment, a safe space to create and be exactly who you want to be.

Is Fiiri a political platform as well as a creative one?

For me, yes. Fiiri has to be unapologetic. We talk about difficult things, we try to solve problems, and obviously that becomes political. We are demanding change, and we are creating a safe space for our creatives to be able to vocalize those issues and [discover] how we can move forward from them, and how we can speak about these things in a good and positive way, and really see what real change looks like. It has to start from us; we are just doing the things that we’re supposed to do and people are following. It’s really exciting to see that.

What do you look for in a model or a talent?

The biggest thing for me is personality. When I look at their photo, I somehow just see that there’s something extra about them, and it’s like this sort of fire in them that I see.

Why did the agency grow to include talent beyond models?

Well, as we know, the issues don’t just stop when it comes to representation. If you’re going to be fully diverse, it’s not enough to just have a Black model or an Indian model and not have anybody else [on set] who looks similar to you. It just doesn’t work that way; you really need to think more than that. So that was always the idea, [to get] behind both [models and] talent, because if you’re going to be fully diverse, you need to have both.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.