Sudanese-Australian model Adut Akech named 2018 ‘model of the year’

19-year-old Sudanese-Australian model Adut Akech was named the number one female model in the world, beating top supermodels such as Gigi Hadid and Bella Hadid, by Models.com  Industry Awards.

Broken down in 11 categories going from Model of the Year Women to Celebrity Model Men, “Model of the Year (MOTY) Industry Awards are the voice of over 250 voters representing a wide range of the industry’s top professionals.”

Twenty three-year-old Gigi Hadid topped the reader’s choice vote for the female model of the year. The Industry runner-up was 26-year-old British-Ghanaian model Adwoa Aboah and the reader’s choice runner-up was 22-year-old Bella Hadid.

The begining of a modelling career

Akech was born one of five siblings in South Sudan in 1999. She was raised in a Kakuma, a refugee camp in Kenya, and arrived in Adelaide when she was only 7-years-old. Akech launched her career at the age of 16 years

By the time she was 18-years-old, she had appeared on the covers of Vogue Australia as well as Vogue British. In July last year, she was chosen by creative director Karl Lagerfeld to become the first black Chanel bride in over an entire decade at Couture Week, the last black Chanel bride being British-Sudanese model Alex Wek in 2004.

Akech has made a huge impact on the modelling industry since making her professional runway debut for Yves Saint Laurent in the designer’s spring/summer 2017 show

On New Year’s day, she took to her Instagram handle to share that despite having a successful career she “suffered from really bad depression and anxiety.”She explained how she is ‘learning’ to deal with and cope with her mental illness but feels very overwhelmed sometimes.

Sources: meaww.com & independent.co.uk