Kimberly Makina

We caught up with Miss Hertfordshire 2019/20 winner, Kimberly Makina, recently to chat about life, jewellery, and her experience in the world of beauty pageantry. This interview was a long time coming, as we first made contact with Kimberly back in March, just a few weeks after her appearance in the finals of Miss Great Britain 2020.

Obviously, a lot has happened since then; fast forward to September and we finally got the chance to chat in Kimberly’s home town of St Albans.

We started off by talking about how Kimberly ended up as Miss Hertfordshire and what her motivations for applying were.

‘’Pageantry isn’t really my thing. At all. I was reading up about Zara Holland, a former Miss Great Britain winner, who went on Love Island in 2016 and ended up being stripped of her title after having sex on the show. I was reading up about her side of the story, and thinking about why women can’t be free liberated with their bodies in the same way men are.

Some aspects of the whole thing did strike me as unfair, but I could see that maybe it wasn’t the example Miss GB wanted to set for women or an example that should be set for younger girls who engage with the program.

So, I thought, I wonder how somebody becomes ‘Miss Great Britain’, what channels they have to go through etc. I looked up the Miss GB website and at first, I wasn’t sure if it was legit, partly because they don't have a huge social (media) presence.

I was looking up past winners and saw what I think people expect a beauty pageant winner to be, blonde, blue eyes etc and I thought, that’s such a shame, I would love to see the first black Miss Great Britain

So, I applied, on a whim, and I got it.

I was surprised just to be accepted. It was kind of an experiment because you just don't see people who look like me winning these things. Was that because girls weren’t applying? Was it because they weren’t being selected?’’

It's an interesting question and one that's very relevant. In a way, the timing of our interview couldn't be better. Since Kimberly’s experience with Miss GB, the way that people of colour are treated and represented has been at the forefront of the news agenda: the black lives matter movement and the murder of George Flloyd have thrust these questions into the public consciousness.

Had we interviewed Kimberly back in March, would she have been comfortable in bringing up her feelings about representation in the competition?

It's always interesting finding out about how organisations, like Miss GB, do things. There's obviously a lot of stuff that goes on behind the scenes that we just don't see. I guess I’d always assumed there were live heats at every stage but that's not Kimberly’s experience

‘’Some of the regions have live heats but the Hertfordshire one was a web selection so the first time I met anyone, other competitors, judges etc was in November at the trial day for Miss Great Britain. There were other girls of colour. I think there’s a fine line, I’m sure many girls who have the same thought process as me when I first started so don't bother applying.’’

‘’Moving on the diversity thing, I was surprised when I met some of the other contestants. There was somebody in politics, a surgeon, not exactly what I was expecting.

As well as that, there were lots of people there who had competed before. One girl had competed 9 times and people get coached and I couldn’t be more opposite to that.

Some of the people who were there were really inspiring, but in how they chose the winners I didn't see anything that inspired me. I just feel it's a missed opportunity.’’

It's an interesting insight into the world of beauty pageantry. The competition celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2020 and although most people have heard of the competition there have long been questions about its relevance in the world today. It can undoubtedly be a springboard for some, however, it seems that Kimberly’s experience reflects some of the more sceptical views.

Kimberly, who studied fashion design at Birmingham City university and worked in fashion until 3 years ago, doesn’t plan to enter the competition again and her focus is now on her career in the world of retail licensing.

One thing that surprised me about Kimberly’s experience was that she struggled to find local sponsors and even her local press failed to pick up on a Miss Hertfordshire winner in their midst. Some of the businesses that Kimberly approached for sponsorship didn't wish to be associated with the competition, maybe a sign of the times. I got the impression that Kimberly had mixed feelings about the competition. There were definitely some positives. The people involved, the organisers especially, come out well, though the lack of support and guidance for somebody totally new to the world of pageantry is something that could be improved upon.

Away from her experience in the competition, we wanted to explore Kimberly’s relationship to jewellery and some of her earliest experiences of interacting with it. I'm always fascinated to hear about people's memories and what they associate with jewellery.

‘’My first memory of jewellery isn’t a positive one. I had a thin gold bracelet that my parents had given me and it broke while I was in the bath. I was very upset. I don't remember why I had it exactly, but I was very upset.’’

Luckily this early misfortune hasn't dampened Kimberly enthusiasm for jewellery. I was curious to find out which brands Kimberly likes and interacts with and how. Instagram and other social media platforms are responsible for people being exposed to jewellery and brands that most people hadn’t heard of just 10 years ago.

‘’My dream engagement ring is a De Beers ring, a big yellow diamond on the centre and 2 triangle-shaped diamonds either side. I love Van Cleefs too and I follow them both on Instagram.

My favourite item of jewellery is a ring that I have, its gold in the shape of an eye with diamonds around the outline and a small ruby in the centre. I was given it when I was 8 and i've worn it pretty much every day since, so much so that the ruby came out of its setting recently so I can’t wear it right now. I wore it constantly, in bed, in the shower, so it's done ok really.’’

“I’m definitely a yellow gold person and now I'm obsessed with rose gold. I feel it's warmer and really goes with my skin tone.’’

Rose gold is a mixture of gold and copper to create the ‘pinkier’ colour that’s has become a big trend in jewellery.

‘’My mum has always had a lot of jewellery, especially rings. I love her engagement ring, which is a ruby with diamonds and yellow gold.’’

Kimberly, who incidentally is named after the Kimberley diamond mine in South Africa, was born in Zimbabwe and moved to the UK with her family when she was 8, where she has lived ever since.

Zimbabwe has a wealth of natural resources, most notably diamonds and gold, however I was unaware of any ruby mines there. However, having done a little research since I have learnt that there are Ruby mines in the south of Zimbabwe meaning all of the materials in the both Kimberly and her mother’s ring could have been sourced in Zimbabwe.

‘’My birthday is in September so my birthstone is sapphire. I don't have any sapphire jewellery myself. My mum has a sapphire and diamond eternity ring that she's had for years since we lived in Zimbabwe. hey are blue sapphires in a channel set ring with alternate diamonds.’’

As well as people’s past experiences with jewellery, the future of jewellery is always an interesting topic to explore. Even since I joined the jewellery trade in 2004, we’ve seen trends come and go, people are more aware than ever about where the materials in their jewellery come from and the internet has changed things forever.

‘’I think the future of jewellery is really interesting and wearable tech is going to be a big part of that. I love the idea of an apple watch, but honestly, I think they’re ugly. There’s definitely going to be a market for watches and jewellery integrated with technology.’’