How It Started

Tell me you're a diva without telling me you're a diva — see picture above.

I was born in Geelong, Victoria. I'm an 80s baby, the middle-child generation. From analogue to digital, we've seen it all. Well, most of it.

Growing up, I struggled to find my place in the world. It didn’t help to aspire to become a Black Supermodel. It only exacerbated my deep-rooted insecurities. Lovingly, I blame Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks, Iman, and the legions of Black glamazon's I saw in magazines, on catwalks and TV. They made a little Black girl believe she could be a star.

Yes, representation does matter.

But all that changed when I moved back from the US to Oz. That's when I had to search high and low to find any form of representation. And when it came to my cultural identity, I felt like a coin tossed on any given day. It was a good day if it landed on African-American, the praise and fascination for being the right kind of Black. On the flip side, nothing but ridicule and shame if the coin revealed, Aboriginal.

P.S. You can read more about my story in my debut memoir Gigorou: It's time to reclaim beauty. First Nations wisdom and womanhood.

In this intimately fierce, funny and reflective book, I retrace my footsteps as a beauty assistant, model and magazine editor to find the answers I'm searching for. Through conversations with my matriarchs, and the creation stories gifted to me, I unlock an ancestral wisdom – the key to healing and reclaiming my femininity.

In a time where the patriarchy obstructs women from the divine feminine, and sexism, racism, and ageism violate our sovereignty, Gigorou invites us to explore the interconnectedness of Aboriginal culture to resolve our relationship with beauty and ourselves.

Gigorou is not just my story but a coming of age for us all – what lessons can we learn from the oldest living culture in the world? 

How It’s Going

Photo credit: Caroline McCredie.

Sasha Kutabah Sarago is a proud Wadjanbarra Yidinji, Jirrbal and African-American woman.

A former model, Sasha, grew frustrated by the invisibility of multicultural women in fashion and media. In 2011, she founded Ascension — Australia's first digital lifestyle platform for women of colour. As a speaker, Sasha raises awareness around culture, diversity and equity in the business, media and lifestyle sectors.

Sasha's TEDx talk The (de)colonising of beauty was selected as TED.com 2021 Editor's Choice (garnering 1.6 million views). Along with the upcoming release of her debut memoir Gigorou: It’s time to reclaim beauty. First Nations wisdom and womanhood. Sasha is passionate about sparking conversations around femininity from a First Nations woman's perspective.

Appearing on NITV Awaken Black is Beautiful, SBS Insight Growing Up Mixed Race, and the ABC’s The School That Tried To End Racism. Sasha has featured in BuzzFeed, Huffington Post, 10 Daily, Sydney Morning Herald, Frankie and Fashion Journal Magazines. With articles published in The Guardian and SBS Voices. Sasha has also written and directed documentaries Too Pretty To Be Aboriginal and InsideOUT, which premiered at the Melbourne Women's Film Festival 2020.