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| .Alek Wek |
I wrote about models, fashion shows, new trend, designer’s
and lot more but I was moved when I was writing this story about “diva’s of all
diva’s” Alek Wak!
From Immigrate to Super Model Wak is just a normal girl, who
came from Southern Africa Sudan, later left for London at the age of Fourteen
rest was history.
When Elle chose Alek Wek for the cover of their November
1997 issue, they were taking what many magazines considered a risk: a
dark-skinned African girl on your cover did not, theoretically, sell issues.
The result, however, was monumental reader response with letters-to-the-editor
from women and men ecstatic about seeing the standards of beauty in fashion
redefined.
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| .The African goddess: Alek Wek. |
As Oprah commented when Alek appeared on her show, "If
you'd been on the cover of a magazine when I was growing up, I would have had a
different concept of who I was."
Born in Southern Sudan, Alek was raised as a part of the
Dinka tribe. At fourteen the civil war forced her to flee to London with her
younger sister, where they were later joined by their mother and siblings. It
was in London, at a street fair, where Alek was discovered.
She launched a career in modeling that has since named her:
"Model of the Decade" by trend-setting i-D magazine; one of People
magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" in May of 1999 as well as one
of the "50 Most Influential Faces in Fashion" according to i-D and
Frank magazines.
"I haven't seen anybody that interesting, that black
and that beautiful in a long time," said Steven Meisel, who has
photographed Alek for Vogue. This is the sentiment that continues to surround
Alek. She is not just a black model, and not just a celebrity lending her name
to a cause. Alek uses fashion as a vehicle to accomplish what she believes in,
which has proven to benefit everyone.
NATIONALITY: Sudanese
BIRTH DATE: April
16, 1977
LIVES NOW: New
York, NY
STATUS: Supermodel
KNOWN FOR: Charity
work, Hair, Legs
AGENCIES: IMG, STORM, MEGA, UNIQUE, RICCARDO GAY MODEL
FRIENDS: Edmundo
Castillo, Natalia Vodianova, Iman, Tyson Beckford, Jade Parfitt, Tasha Tilberg, Michelle
Alves, Mimi Roche
MODEL TURNED: Activist (Refugees Advisory Council), Actress
(Four Feathers, 2002), Writer(Autobiography “Alek”, August 2007)
INTERESTS: Music
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| In an i-D editorial, June 2009. Photographed by Amy Troost. |
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| In a Japanese Vogue editorial, July 2009. Photographed by Josh Olins. |
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| With Liya Kebede, Tyson Beckford, and designer Momo at the Africa Rising Festival in London, England, October 14, 2008. |
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| In an i-D editorial, March 2009. Photographed by Solve Sundsbo. |
Quoted:
“I played the drums,
then the piano . . . but now I'm really into my guitar.” —New York magazine
Alek Wek's Career
Highlights
16 APR, 1977: Born in
Wau, Sudan
1991: Moves
to England with her family to escape the civil war between the Sudan’s Muslim north
and Christian south
1991: Wek’s
father is killed, leaving her mother and nine children
1995: Discovered
by a Model 1 scout Fiona Ellis at a party
1995: Appears
in the music video for Tina Turner’s GoldenEy
1996: Signed
to Ford Models
1996: Appears
in the video for Janet Jackson’s Got ’Til It’s Gone
1997: Named
Model of the Year by MTV
1997: Named
Model of the Decade by i-D
FEB 1997: Debuts
on the runways for Alexander McQueen,
Chanel, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Ralph Lauren in Paris and New York
FEB 1997: Walks
during fall Fashion Week for names like Chanel, Dries Van Noten,
Lagerfeld, and Vivienne Westwood in Paris
NOV 1997: Appears
on the cover of Elle
APR 1998: Appears
on the cover of i-D
1999: Featured
in the Pirelli calendar
1999: Named
one of People magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People
OCT 1999: Appears
on the cover of German Vogue
FEB 2000: Closes
the Yves Saint Laurent fall show in Paris
JUL 2000: Appears
on the cover of i-D
SEP 2000: Appears
on the cover of Essence
JAN 2001: Opens
the Valentino spring couture show in Paris
JAN 2001: Opens
the Christian Lacroix spring couture show in Paris
JAN 2001: Opens
the Yves Saint Laurent spring couture show in Paris
MAR 2001: Closes
the John Galliano fall show in Paris
SEP 2001: Closes
the Oscar de la Renta spring show in New York
OCT 2001: Closes
the Jean Paul Gaultier spring show in Paris
2002: Plays
Sudanese princess Aquol in the film The Four Feathers
2002: Campaign
for the Gap
JAN 2002: Appears
on the cover of British Vogue
JAN 2002: Opens
the Christian Lacroix spring couture show in Paris
JUL 2002: Opens
the Christian Lacroix fall couture show in Paris
JAN 2003: Opens
and closes the Christian Lacroix spring couture show in Paris
JAN 2003: Opens
the Ralph Rucci Chado spring couture show in Paris
JUN 2004: Appears
on the cover of Cosmopolitan
SEP 2004: Opens
the Fendi spring show in Milan
2005: Launches
wek1933, a line of handbags named for the year of her father’s birth
2006: Print
ads for Jones New York
FEB 2006: Feature
in Vogue about her choices in denim and her overall style
NOV 2006: Nominated
for Britain’s Model of the Year award alongside Erin O’Connor and
Kate Moss (the latter won)
FEB 2007: Closes
the Diane Von Furstenberg show in New York
AUG 2007: Releases
an autobiography, Alek, in which she admits that some of her modeling work has had
racist undertones
8 SEP, 2007: Named
Vogue's third best dressed of the week in a short Diane von Fustenburg
SEP 2007: Appears
on the cover of Ebony with Iman, Tyra Banks, and Kimora Lee
JAN 2008: Walks
the spring Christian Dior couture show in Paris
FEB 2008: Walks
the fall Diane von Furstenberg show in New York
MAY 2008: Walks
the resort Christian Dior show in New York
JUL 2008: Featured
in the all-black Italian Vogue issue, photographed by Steven Meisel
SEP 2008: Closes
the spring Aquascutum and Jasper Conran shows in London
FEB 2009: Closes
the fall Aquascutum show in London
JUN 2009: Appears
in i-D editorial, photographed by Amy Troost
JUL 2009: Appears
in Japanese Vogue editorial, photographed by Josh Olins
AUG 2010: Appears
in Dazed & Confused editorial, photographed by Roe Ethridge
2011: Appears
in the summer issue of i-D , photographed by Matthew Stone
2012: Models
for the Kenzo spring ad campaign
2012: Arise
Magazine Fashion Week in Nigeria
