MS. WEK

Okay, so I have been an absolutely terrible blogger, I apologize immensely!! The internet in my apartment just decided to stop working (that's still no excuse though, there's plenty of Borders and Starbucks around for me to work at, not to mention school -___-). I am supposed to be doing posts on influential black individuals in the fashion industry. Today, my lady of choice is African model Alek Wek!

The Sudanese-British model was born April 16, 1977 as the seventh of nine children in Wau, Sudan. She is of the Dinka ethnic group in southern Sudan, and she says her name means "the black spotted cow". In 1991, her and a few family members escaped the Civil War in Sudan to Britain where she was discovered by a Models 1 scout at Crystal Palace in London.

She was signed to Ford Models in 1996 and has done ads for Victoria's Secret, Issey Miyake, Moschino and Clinique (which is pretty awesome for Clinique because her skin is quite dark and for those of you who don't have dark skin, finding makeup to match it is quite a feat!) She has walked the runway for LaCroix (acting as the center bride on a few occasions),  John Galliano, Donna Karan, Chanel, Shiatzy Chen, Calvin Klein, and more. 

 In addition to modeling, this talented woman also designs a line of handbags called "Wek 1933" which can be available through Selfridges stores. The inspiration for the bags came from the brass-clasp briefcase her father would always carry for work, and naturally the date 1933 corresponds to the year her father was born.