Dominican Republic-born Omahila Mota Garcia has been a striking presence on runways around the world since the early 2000s, having made her fashion debut at age 15. More than two decades later, she’s still graced magazine covers, starred in campaigns for brands like Jean Paul Gaultier, and walked the runways of big names like Mugler and Nina Ricci. This August, she appeared in Bazaar’s annual Performance Portfolio, showcasing some of the most iconic looks for fall. Below, she talks growing up, embracing androgynous beauty, and raising her two daughters.
I was born in the 80s. Androgynous icons didn’t exist when I was growing up. I remember when I was applying for modeling jobs, I was like, “Mom, I don’t look like the other girls.” At school, kids would say, “You look like a boy.” And my two daughters are now mistaken for boys. I told my oldest, “This is going to be your whole life. People are always going to call you ‘sir,’ but it’s going to be okay.” For me, it was always there, but when I became a model, designers were really accepting of it, so I didn’t always feel awkward. I was more comfortable in those rooms and spaces.
Embracing your beauty is a great thing, and although the modeling industry is more open now, it has become too corporate and has lost steam.
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Being born in the Dominican Republic is different. I live in Queens, New York now, but Dominican kids have bigger batteries and grow up faster. The first food I ate after my mother’s breast milk was arroz con habichueras. Latin culture has a lot of heart, a lot of passion, family, and faith. Now as an adult, I know I am a mother. I am a grandmother, a sister, a brother, a neighborhood, a country.
I started modeling at 15, but I already felt like an adult. I was naive, but I was. Even after all these years, the job still feels the same to me, and I still get nervous. It feels natural, like I’ve done it before, but I still get nervous right before the show. When I look at the clothes, I try to understand what the designer is saying about it. I have to be in that mindset and express this emotion with confidence, power, pride, and as strong as I can. It’s crazy. I focus on acting through my eyes and my thoughts so that people can feel it. I think playing a character is about making people believe it. It’s not about me becoming the character, it’s about convincing people that this character is. It takes a lot.
When I go out and about, away from the runway, I like to wear black because it’s mystical. It’s heavy. It’s deep. I think I show different sides of myself on social media. I post stuff that I think is cool, music like Black Sabbath and Pink Floyd, paintings, etc.
“Now, as an adult, I realize I am a mother. I am a grandmother, a sister, a brother, a neighbor, a country.”
I feel most like myself when I’m painting. There are no walls, it’s just me, it’s really me. I feel so calm. Everyone in my family is an artist, a sculptor and a painter. And my daughters, I always ask my oldest daughter for her opinion when I finish a painting. She’s always right. Ever since they were little, I used to go to Michaels to buy paints. The walls of our apartment were white, so I just said, “You can paint wherever you want.” So the whole house was full of writing and paintings. You can just buy white paint, you can just buy a new sofa. You know what? I never want to stop my daughters from art because I can see them dreaming.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Styling: Carlos Nazario, Hair: Jimmy Paul, Makeup: Yadim for Valentino Beauty, Manicure: Dawn Sterling for Nail Glam, Production: Day International, Set Design: Griffin Stoddard, Special Thanks: Please Space Studios.
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Rosa Sanchez is a senior news editor at Harper’s Bazaar, covering entertainment, fashion and culture news. She was previously news editor at ABC News and before that was celebrity news editor at American Media. She has also written features for a variety of publications, including Rolling Stone, Teen Vogue, Forbes and The Hollywood Reporter.
