Alek Wek

Alek Wek (born 16 April 1977) is a South Sudanese-British model and designer who began her fashion career at the age of 18 in 1995. She has been hailed for her influence on the perception of beauty in the fashion industry. She is from the Dinka ethnic group in South Sudan,[2] but fled to Britain in 1991 to escape the civil war in Sudan.[3] In 2015, she was listed as one of BBC's 100 Women.[4]

This article contains a Dinka name. According to Dinka custom, this person is properly addressed by the name Alek.
Alek Wek
Wek at the Red Collection 2007 for The Heart Truth campaign
Born (1977-04-16) 16 April 1977
Wau, South Sudan
OccupationModel
Years active1995–present
Spouse(s)
Riccardo Sala
​
(m. 2003⁠–⁠2013)​
Modelling information
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Hair colourDark brown
Eye colourBrown
Agency

Early life

Alek was born in Wau in Sudan (now South Sudan), in a two-bedroom house without electricity or running water, and is the seventh of nine children. Her mother Akuol (b. 1946) was a housewife, and her father Athian (1933–1985) was an education official. Her name reportedly means "Black Spotted Cow".[5] Alek suffered from the skin condition psoriasis from infancy until age 14.

When the civil war broke out in Wau in 1985, the Wek family had to flee from both rebel and government forces. Her father, Athian, once broke his hip in a bicycle accident, and his hip was repaired with metal pins. Long periods of walking caused Athian's hip to get infected, and upon the family's return to Wau, he became paralysed and endured a haemorrhage. He died at a relative's home in Khartoum.

Career

Beginnings

After arriving in London at age 14, Alek's psoriasis immediately cleared. She enrolled in the London College of Fashion and studied Fashion Business and Technology.

Alek was discovered at an outdoor market in 1995 in Crystal Palace, London[3] by a Models 1 scout. She appeared in the music video for "GoldenEye" by Tina Turner that year, and shortly thereafter began fashion modeling. She was signed to Ford Models in 1996[2] and also appeared in the "Got 'Til It's Gone" music video by Janet Jackson that year. She was named "Model of the Year" in 1997 by MTV,[6] and was the first African model to appear on the cover of Elle that year.[7]

Modelling

Alek has modelled for many notable fashion houses.[8] Alek has appeared on the cover of American, French, German and South African Elle as well as i-D, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Forbes Magazine Africa and Ebony. She has also been featured in editorials in American and British Vogue. In 2002 she made her acting debut in The Four Feathers as Sudanese princess Aquol.[9] Herb Ritts photographed her for a 1999 calendar in a Joanne Gair body painting that was a highlight of Gair's first retrospective.[10]

In September 2015, Alek walked for Marc Jacobs at Spring/Summer 2016 New York Fashion Week, later appearing in the label's Spring Summer 2016 campaign. In May 2016, she modelled for four special edition covers of Brazilian Elle.[11]

Image

Dark-skinned models were rare, if not unheard of, in the high fashion industry. As a result, Alek's mainstream success was celebrated by black women all over the world. Oprah Winfrey commented that "if Alek had been on the cover of a magazine when I was growing up, I would have had a different concept of who I was."[12] In a speech on beauty and self-perception,[13] Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong'o stated that she had been a self-conscious, insecure teenager before seeing Alek in the spotlight: "When I saw Alek, I inadvertently saw a reflection of myself that I could not deny. Now, I had a spring in my step because I felt more seen, more appreciated by the far-away gatekeepers of beauty".[14]

Designing

Alek also designs a range of designer handbags called "Wek 1933", which are available throughout selected Selfridges department stores. The name refers to the year her father was born.[15] Her inspiration for the designs came from the brass-clasp briefcase carried by her father.[16]

Campaigning

Since 2002, Alek has been an advisor to the U.S. Committee for Refugees Advisory Council,[17] which helps to raise awareness about the situation in Sudan, as well as the plight of refugees worldwide.

She is a missionary for World Vision, an organisation which combats AIDS, an ambassador for Doctors Without Borders in Sudan, and devotes time to UNICEF.[18]

In 2007, she released an autobiography, entitled Alek: From Sudanese Refugee to International Supermodel, documenting her journey from a childhood of poverty in Sudan to the catwalks of Europe.[19]

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

In July 2012, she returned to South Sudan with the UN Refugee Agency to highlight the stories of refugees returning from the north and the massive efforts needed to build and stabilise the country.[20] In 2012, Alek teamed up with Amarula as the face of their campaign African Originals.

Personal life

As of 2009, Wek resided in Brooklyn, New York.[1] She was in a relationship with Riccardo Sala, an Italian real estate developer, for twelve years; they separated in 2013.[21] She is the aunt of the runway model Ataui Deng.[22]

Filmography
Television
YearTitle[23]RoleNotes
2011America's Next Top ModelHerselfGuest Judge
2011Britain & Ireland's Next Top ModelHerselfGuest Judge
Film
YearTitleRoleNote
2002The Four FeathersAquolFilm Debut
2018SuspiriaMiss Millius[24]

References
  1. "Alek Wek – Model Profile". Models.com. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  2. "Refugee from Sudan takes runways by storm". Articles.baltimoresun.com. 9 January 1997. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  3. "BBC – Radio 4 Woman's Hour -Alek Wek". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
  4. "BBC 100 Women 2015: Who is on the list?". BBC News. 17 November 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  5. "Tavis Smiley . Archives . Alek Wek . August 30, 2007". PBS. Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
  6. "Alek Wek – Fashion Model – Profile".
  7. "Fun Black Fashion Fact: Alek Wek on November 1997 Elle Magazine". Archived from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  8. Jasper Conran Spring/Summer 2009 Collection
  9. "The Four Feathers". Salon.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  10. Herrick, Linda (10 December 2001). "Joanne Gair's designs on celebrities". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  11. "Marc Jacobs Had the Most Exciting Cast at New York Fashion Week". Vogue.com. 17 September 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  12. Gundan, Farai. "Supermodel Alek Wek on the Business of Fashion, Being The Face of Refugees And Life After The Runway".
  13. "Lupita Nyong'o Speech on Black Beauty Essence Black Women".
  14. "Lupita Nyong'o: 'There is no shame in black beauty'".
  15. Campbell, Denise (2006). "Couture carryall: fashion model Alek Wek designs luxury handbags". Retrieved 23 February 2009 – via Find Articles.
  16. "Steve Dow, journalist". Stevedow.com.au. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  17. "Alek Wek profile: news, photos, style, videos and more – HELLO! Online". Hellomagazine.com. 31 December 2000. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  18. "Alek Wek". AskMen. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  19. Alek: From Sudanese Refugee to International Supermodel
  20. "Alek Wek's Journey Home". Bluekeyblog.org. 3 July 2012. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  21. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 April 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  22. "Meet The New Girl". nymag.com. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  23. "Filmography by TV series for Alek Wek". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  24. Desta, Yohanna (23 August 2018). "Don't Watch the Suspiria Trailer If You Want to Sleep Tonight". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
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