Adut Akech Bior ( ; born 25 December 1999) is a South Sudanese-Australian model. Akech made her

fashion week A fashion week is a fashion industry event, lasting approximately one week, where fashion designers, brands or "houses" display their latest collections in runway fashion shows to buyers and the media. These events influence the upcoming fashion ...

runway debut as an exclusive in the Saint Laurent S/S 17 show and went on to close both their F/W 17 and S/S 18 shows as an exclusive. In 2018, she was chosen as "Model of the Year" by models.com, an honour which was repeated the next year.

Early life

Akech was born in

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

(formerly part of

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

), but was raised in

Kakuma Kakuma is a town in northwestern Turkana County, Kenya. It is the site of a UNHCR refugee camp, established in 1992. The population of Kakuma town was 60,000 in 2014, having grown from around 8,000 in 1990. In 1991, the camp was established to ho ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. She was 7 years old when she moved away from Kenya along with her mother to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

as South Sudanese refugees. Akech has five siblings. Akech was known as "Mary" in Adelaide, as Australian teachers found it difficult to pronounce her name.

Career

Akech was introduced to the fashion industry by her family, and despite getting scouted multiple times by local modelling agencies when she was 13 and 14 years old, she started her modelling career at 16 years old, signing to her mother agency, Chadwick Models, in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia. Within the fashion industry, she prefers her birth name, Adut. Akech's runway debut was in a local fashion show, put together by her aunt. She then went on doing Melbourne Fashion Week, where she took digitals for a Saint Laurent casting in Paris Fashion Week. After Melbourne Fashion Week, back home in Adelaide, she got a call from her agent confirming her for the Saint Laurent show, and took a flight to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

a day after, making her major Fashion Week debut at Saint Laurent's S/S 17 show and signing to

Elite Model Management Elite Model Management (MM) refers to two independent chain modeling agencies that originated as one in Paris, France in 1972 with subsequent locations in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London and Toronto. In 2004, the agencies in New York, Miami, ...

in Paris. Since then, Akech has done 4 campaigns and closed 2 shows for Saint Laurent, 1 campaign and 2 shows for Valentino, one campaign for Zara, and one campaign for

Moschino Moschino () is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1983 by Franco Moschino in Milan known for over-the-top, campy designs. The company specializes in ready-to-wear, handbags, and fashion accessories. History Founding and 1990s Franco Mosc ...

, as well as walked for

Alexander McQueen Lee Alexander McQueen CBE (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was a British fashion designer and couturier. He founded his own Alexander McQueen label in 1992, and was chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001. His achievements in fashion ...

Givenchy Givenchy (, ) is a French luxury fashion and perfume house. It hosts the brand of haute couture and ready-to-wear clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics of Parfums Givenchy. The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer Hubert de ...

Kenzo is a common masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Kenzō can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *賢三, "wise, three" *健三, "healthy, three" *謙三, "humble, three" *健想, "healthy, concept" *建造, "bu ...

Prada Prada S.p.A. (, ; ) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It specializes in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, and other fashion accessories. Prada licenses its name and branding t ...

Lanvin Lanvin () is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house based in Paris. Founded in 1889 by Jeanne Lanvin, it is the oldest French fashion house still in operation. Since 2018, it has been a subsidiary of Shanghai-based Lanvin Group. Bruno Sialel ...

, Loewe,

Miu Miu Miu Miu is an Italian high fashion women's clothing and accessory brand and a fully owned subsidiary of Prada. It is headed by Miuccia Prada and headquartered in Paris, France. History Miu Miu was established in 1992 by Miuccia Prada. The name ...

Acne Studios Acne Studios is a multidisciplinary luxury fashion house based in Stockholm, Sweden that specializes in men's and women's ready-to-wear fashion, footwear, accessories and denim. When founded in 1996, the label derived its name from the creative co ...

Tom Ford Thomas Carlyle Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched his eponymous luxury brand in 2005, having previously served as the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. Ford wrote and directe ...

Tory Burch Tory Burch (née Robinson; born June 17, 1966) is an American fashion designer, businesswoman, and philanthropist. She is the Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of her own brand, Tory Burch LLC. She was listed as the 88th most powerfu ...

Jason Wu Jason Wu (; born September 27, 1982) is a Taiwanese-Canadian artist and fashion designer based in New York City. Born in Taiwan and raised in Vancouver, he studied fashion design at Parsons School of Design, and trained under Narciso Rodriguez ...

Bottega Veneta Bottega Veneta () is an Italian luxury fashion house based in Milan, Italy. Its product lines include ready-to-wear, handbags, shoes, accessories, and jewelry; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty, Inc. for fragrances. History Found ...

Anna Sui Anna Sui (; born August 4, 1964) is an American fashion designer. She was named one of the "Top 5 Fashion Icons of the Decade", and in 2009 earned the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (C ...

Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc., in 1968. In addition to clothing, he also has given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and ...

JW Anderson JW Anderson is a British fashion label, founded by Jonathan Anderson. Anderson lived in Northern Ireland during his youth before establishing JW Anderson in 2008 and subsequently launched his fashion house in London. The brand initially focused ...

Simone Rocha Simone Rocha (born 1986) is an Irish fashion designer. She is the daughter of fashion designer John Rocha, and trained at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin and at Central Saint Martins, London. She launched her graduate collection ...

Burberry Burberry is a British luxury fashion house established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry headquartered in London, England. It currently designs and distributes ready to wear, including trench coats (for which it is most famous), leather accessories, ...

Off-White Shades of white are colors that differ only slightly from pure white. Variations of white include what are commonly termed off-white colors, which may be considered part of a neutral color scheme or yellow that looks like brown. In color theo ...

, Ellery,

Jil Sander Heidemarie Jiline "Jil" Sander (; b. 27 November 1943) is a German minimalist fashion designer and the founder of the Jil Sander fashion house. Early life and education Heidemarie Jiline Sander was born in Wesselburen, Nazi Germany on 27 Nov ...

Giambattista Valli Giambattista Valli is an Italian fashion designer. He is from Rome, Italy. His collections, both ready to wear and Haute couture are presented semi-annually during Paris Fashion Week. Early life Born and raised in Rome, Giambattista Valli comple ...

Proenza Schouler Proenza Schouler is a womenswear and accessories brand founded in 2002 by designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez. Based in New York City, Proenza Schouler is derived from maiden names of the two designers' mothers: Proenza is the maiden ...

and

Versace Gianni Versace S.r.l. (), usually referred to as Versace ( ), is an Italian luxury fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978 known for flashy prints and bright colors. The company produces Italian-made ready-to-wear and accessories, as w ...

. She has shot editorials for ''

American Vogue ''Vogue'' is an American monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine that covers many topics, including haute couture fashion, beauty, culture, living, and runway. Based at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, ''Vog ...

'', ''

British Vogue British ''Vogue'' is a British fashion magazine published based in London since autumn 1916. It is the British edition of the American magazine ''Vogue'' and is owned and distributed by Condé Montrose Nast. British ''Vogue'' editor in 2012 c ...

'', ''

Vogue Italia ''Vogue Italia'' is the Italian edition of ''Vogue'' magazine. Owned by Condé Nast International, it has been called the top fashion magazine in the world. It's been in publication since 1964. Name ''Vogue Italia'' was first published as ''N ...

'', ''

Vogue Paris The French edition of ''Vogue'' magazine, formerly called ''Vogue Paris'', is a fashion magazine that has been published since 1920. History 1920–54 The French edition of ''Vogue'' was first issued on 15 June 1920, the first editor-in-chief b ...

'',

I-D Magazine ''i-D'' is a British bimonthly magazine published by Vice Media, dedicated to fashion, music, art and youth culture. ''i-D'' was founded by designer and former '' Vogue'' art director Terry Jones in 1980. The first issue was published in the fo ...

, ''Le Monde M Magazine'', ''Modern Matter'', ''

Numéro ''Numéro'' is an international fashion magazine published by Paul-Emmanuel Reiffers. It has a circulation of 80,000, and the French edition reached its 100th issue in February 2009. The magazine covers international fashion, beauty, design, h ...

'', ''The Gentlewoman'', '' WSJ.'', ''

T Magazine ''T: The New York Times Style Magazine'' is a perfect-bound magazine publication of ''The New York Times'' newspaper dedicated to fashion, living, beauty, holiday, travel, and design coverage. It was launched in August 2004. It was published 1 ...

'' and ''

Vogue Australia ''Vogue'' ''Australia'' is the Australian edition of ''Vogue'' magazine. ''Vogue Australia'' became the 4th edition of Vogue in 1959 after '' Vogue'', ''British Vogue'' and ''Vogue Paris''. Prior to becoming a stand-alone issue, the Australian edi ...

''. Akech has landed magazine covers for ''

'', ''10 Magazine Australia'', ''Vogue Italia'', ''British Vogue'', ''Vogue Australia'', ''Portrait'', ''Elle Croatia'', ''L'Officiel Singapore'' and ''Le Monde M Magazine''. She is set to feature in the 2018

Pirelli Calendar The Pirelli Calendar, known and trade-marked as "The Cal", is an annual trade calendar which has been published by the UK subsidiary of the Italian tyre manufacturing company Pirelli since 1964. The calendar has a reputation for its choice of ...

, shot by

Tim Walker Timothy Walker HonFRPS (born 1970) is a British fashion photographer, who regularly works for ''Vogue'', '' W'' and ''Love'' magazines. He is based in London. Life and career Walker was born in England in 1970. His interest in photography bega ...

, alongside

Sasha Lane Sasha Bianca Lane (born September 29, 1995) is an American actress. She made her film debut in ''American Honey'' (2016), directed by Andrea Arnold, before portraying Hunter C-20 in the first season of the Disney+ television series ''Loki'', set ...

Lil Yachty Miles Parks McCollum (born August 23, 1997), known professionally as Lil Boat, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and producer. He first gained recognition on the internet in 2015 for his singles "One Night" and "Minnesota" (featuring ...

Sean Combs Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960; stylized as RuPaul) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model. Best known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ...

Adwoa Aboah Adwoa Caitlin Maria Aboah (born 18 May 1992) is a British fashion model. In December 2017 she appeared on the cover of British ''Vogue''. She has also been on the cover of ''American Vogue'', ''Vogue Italia'', '' Vogue Poland'', and '' i-D''. I ...

Naomi Campbell Naomi Elaine Campbell (born 22 May 1970) is an English model, actress, singer, and businesswoman. She began her career at the age of 15, and established herself amongst the most recognisable and in-demand models of the past four decades. Cam ...

and

Slick Woods Simone Thompson (born August 13, 1996), better known as Slick Woods, is an American fashion model and actress, known for her bald head, gapped teeth, and tattoos. Woods is a part of the "Social Media Modeling" or "Instagirl" movement as she has fo ...

. She is set to be Melbourne Spring Fashion Week's ambassador for 2019. Akech is currently ranked in the "Top 50" on models.com. In 2019, ''

Who Who or WHO may refer to: * Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun * Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism * World Health Organization Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book '' Horton He ...

'' magazine ran a feature about Akech but printed a picture of another model instead of her. Akech said that the error was "unacceptable and inexcusable" and felt that the "entire race has been disrespected." ''Who'' apologised to her for the error. In this year, Akech also started working with the United Nations Refugee Agency to help refugees. In her words, "Refugees are just like everyone else", and she would want to be a positive role model for people that are in similar situations to her upbringing. After the pandemic restrictions were eased, Akech went back to work. In 2020, Adut Akech was featured beside Naomi Campbell in Beyonce's "Black Is King" for the song "Brown Skin Girl". In 2022, Akech worked several fall fashion campaigns including Michael Kors and Victoria’s Secret. Akech was also one of 17 cover models featured on the September issue of The W Magazine as a part of their 50th Anniversary Issue.

Honours

She was one of fifteen women selected to appear on the cover of the September 2019 issue of ''

'', by guest editor Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. On 2 December 2019, she won the 'Model of the Year' award at the

British Fashion Awards The Fashion Awards, known as the British Fashion Awards until 2016, is an annual ceremony established in the United Kingdom in 1989 to showcase both British and international individuals and businesses who have made the most outstanding contribu ...

in London.

References

External links

Adut Akech
at Models.com
Adut Akech
at Instagram {{DEFAULTSORT:Akech, Adut 1999 births Living people Australian female models South Sudanese refugees South Sudanese emigrants to Australia South Sudanese female models Australian models of South Sudanese descent The Society Management models Elite Model Management models Refugees in Kenya People from Adelaide