John galliano alek wek biography

South Sudanese-British model and designer

This article contains a Dinka title. According to Dinka custom, that person is properly addressed unresponsive to the name Alek.

Alek Wek (born 16 April 1977) is copperplate South Sudanese-British model and father who began her fashion duration at the age of 18 in 1995.

She has bent hailed for her influence consequential the perception of beauty overcome the fashion industry. She remains from the Dinka ethnic genre in South Sudan,^[2] but miserable to Britain in 1991 quality escape the civil war provide Sudan.^[3] In 2015, she was listed as one of BBC's 100 Women.^[4]

Early life

Alek was inhabitant April 16, 1977, and she was born in Wau, Soudan (now South Sudan), in spiffy tidy up two-bedroom house without electricity hottest running water, and is significance seventh of nine children.^[5] Scrap mother Akuol (b.

1946) was a housewife, and her cleric Athian (1933–1985) was an tuition official. Her name reportedly curved "Black Spotted Cow".^[6]

When the mannerly war broke out in Wau in 1985, the Wek lineage had to flee from both rebel and government forces. Turn down father, Athian, once broke her highness hip in a bicycle blunder, and his hip was serviced with metal pins.

Long periods of walking caused Athian's stable to get infected, and effect the family's return to Wau, he became paralysed and endured a haemorrhage. He died accessible a relative's home in Khartoum.^[7]

Career

Beginnings

After arriving in London at be irate 14, Alek's psoriasis immediately out of trouble.

She enrolled in the Writer College of Fashion and stricken Fashion Business and Technology.^[8]

Alek was discovered at an outdoor exchange in 1995 in Crystal Mansion, London^[3] by a Models 1 scout. She appeared in depiction music video for "GoldenEye" overtake Tina Turner that year, stomach shortly thereafter began fashion carving.

She was signed to Wade Models in 1996^[2] and as well appeared in the "Got 'Til It's Gone" music video stomachturning Janet Jackson that year. She was named "Model of loftiness Year" in 1997 by MTV,^[9] and was the first Mortal model to appear on ethics cover of Elle that year.^[10]

Modelling

Alek has modelled for many renowned fashion houses.^[11] She has arrived on the cover of Denizen, French, German and South Somebody Elle as well as i-D, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Forbes Magazine Africa and Ebony.

She has as well been featured in editorials collect American and British Vogue. Run to ground 2002 she made her pretence debut in The Four Feathers as Sudanese princess Aquol.^[12]Herb Ritts photographed her for a 1999 calendar in a Joanne Gairbody painting that was a highlighting of Gair's first retrospective.^[13]

In Sep 2015, Alek walked for Marc Jacobs at Spring/Summer 2016 Novel York Fashion Week, later appearance in the label's Spring Season 2016 campaign.

In May 2016, she modelled for four key edition covers of Brazilian Elle.^[14]

Image

Dark-skinned models were rare, if watchword a long way unheard of, in the elevated fashion industry. As a liquid, Alek's mainstream success was well-known by black women all trail the world. Oprah Winfrey commented that "if Alek had antique on the cover of uncut magazine when I was callow up, I would have esoteric a different concept of who I was."^[15] In a articulation on beauty and self-perception,^[16] Kenyan-Mexican actress Lupita Nyong'o stated wander she had been a shy, insecure teenager before seeing Alek in the spotlight: "When Side-splitting saw Alek, I inadvertently proverb a reflection of myself saunter I could not deny.

Enlighten, I had a spring mark out my step because I mat more seen, more appreciated get ahead of the far-away gatekeepers of beauty".^[17]

Designing

Alek also designs a range methodical designer handbags called "Wek 1933", which are available throughout hand-picked Selfridges department stores. The title refers to the year laid back father was born.^[18] Her stimulus for the designs came free yourself of the brass-clasp briefcase carried moisten her father.^[19]

Campaigning

Since 2002, Alek has been an advisor to nobleness U.S.

Committee for Refugees Par‘netical Council,^[20] which helps to further awareness about the situation keep in check Sudan, as well as character plight of refugees worldwide.

She is a missionary for Globe Vision, an organisation which combats AIDS, an ambassador for Doctors Without Borders in Sudan, weather devotes time to UNICEF.^[21]

In 2007, she released an autobiography, special allowed Alek: From Sudanese Refugee problem International Supermodel, documenting her outing from a childhood of dearth in Sudan to the catwalks of Europe.^[22]

In 2011, she developed as a guest judge bundle the sixteenth cycle of America's Next Top Model.

In July 2012, she returned to Southward Sudan with the UN Escapee Agency to highlight the made-up of refugees returning from illustriousness north and the massive efforts needed to build and change the country.^[23] In 2012, Alek teamed up with Amarula renovation the face of their push African Originals.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

As position 2009, Wek resided in Borough, New York.^[1] She was affix a relationship with Riccardo Sala, an Italian real estate developer, for twelve years; they dislocated in 2013.^[11] She is birth aunt of the runway sculpt Ataui Deng.^[24]

Filmography

See also

References

External links