Alek Wek: Supermodel, Designer and Social Worker

Alek Wek was born April 16, 1977 in Wau, Suda, she is a photographer, designer and model. She was born as the seventh of nine siblings in the southern Sudanese city of Wau and belongs to the people of the Dinka. When, after 1983, the civil war broke up again in South Sudan and broke out in wow battles, her family fled with her over Khartoum to the UK. There she attended the London College of Fashion. She received great attention in 1995 by the music video for Goldeneye by Tina Turner and afterwards found her way into the fashion world as a mannequin. In 1997, Alek Wek was the first African model to be seen on the cover of Elle. Alek Wek had ads campaigns for brands like Issey Miyake, Moschino, Victoria’s Secret and Clinique. She provided fashion shows among others for John Galliano, Donna Karan and Calvin Klein. Several appeared in the Pirellikalender and turned television advertising. for GAP Jeans. In 1997, she received three awards as a model: “Best New Model” from the Venus de la Fashion Fashion Award, MTV’s “Model of the Year” and “Model of the Decade” by the magazine i-D. In 2002 she played a supporting role in the film “Die vier Federn”. Since 2003, Alek Wek has been living in New York, where she is also a designer for bags with her own collections. Her bag collection Wek1933 is named after her deceased father and her birth year. Wek is a member of the US Committees for Refugees.

Overview

Alek Wek on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube

Videos of Alek Wek: Shootings, Making Ofs and Campaigns

About Alek Wek’s Career

Alek Wek meets Lupita Nyong’o

Alek Wek’s Modeling Debut