How Adelaide-raised Adut Akech went from civil war refugee to the biggest fashion model in the world
From a Kenyan refugee camp, to the northern suburbs of Adelaide to the catwalks of Paris and New York, Adut Akech has not just fulfilled her mission to make something of herself - she’s inspired millions of people around the world.
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She’s strutted her stuff in every major fashion capital of the world, graced the cover of Vogue and made it to Time’s 100 Next list.
But a successful career in the high-flying world of international fashion was anything but assured for a young Adut Akech, who spent her early years in a UN refugee camp in Kenya.
In fact, Akech says she grew up “very far from fashion” and had no concept of a magazine until settling in Australia with her family.
But at just 23, Akech has not just found herself in fashion, but at the top of her game, booking campaigns for major labels and wowing runway shows from Paris and Milan to London and New York. We trace stunning model’s incredible journey from war-torn South Sudan to Adelaide to the world stage.
EARLY YEARS
Akech was born in the South Sudanese community of Narus on Christmas Day, 1999.
Her full name is Adut Akech Bior. She has five siblings Kim, Alakiir, Yar, Bior and Akoul.
Akech and her family fled the civil war in South Sudan and headed to Kenya, where they spent several years in the UN refugee camp Kakuma.
“That’s where I spent the first seven or eight years of my life before I moved to Australia,” Akech told Vogue in 2019 before appearing on the cover of the magazine in January, 2020.
“We didn’t know what a magazine was and we didn’t know much about fashion,” she said.
“We didn’t have a lot of clothes. I grew up very, very far from fashion, and I only discovered the love that I have for fashion when I moved to Australia.”
A NEW START IN AUSTRALIA
In 2006, the family moved to Australia, settling in Adelaide. Akech says one of the main reasons her mother Mary brought the family to Australia was so her children could receive a good education.
She told Vogue in 2010 that she resolved early on to make the most of the endless opportunities her new country provided.
“There’s nothing more important to me than making my mum proud, and education was one of the biggest reasons she took us to Australia, and to have the freedom to do anything we wanted to do,” she told the magazine.
“Growing up here, it wasn’t easy, but it was definitely easier than in Kenya,” she told SAWeekend magazine in 2019.
“We had a roof over our heads, food to eat and somewhere to sleep, which was enough for us, but we still had to work hard.”
She promised her mother three things. That she would finish school and make something of herself, that she would buy her a car, and that she would buy her a house.
In 2018, aged just 19, Akech had fulfilled them all, telling the Guardian in 2021 “it’s one of my proudest achievements”.
“For the longest time, my mum worked non-stop for us, so being able to buy her the dream house meant everything to me.”
These days, Akech may be comfortable under the gaze of millions of adoring fans around the world and rubbing shoulders with the mega rich and famous.
But, as she told the Guardian in 2021, her confidence was something she had to grow into.
“I was this tall, super-shy, awkward kid,” she says.
“I had a weird name, and a gap tooth.”
As The Daily Telegraph reported in 2017, it took several years in Australia before Akech felt comfortable embracing her own name.
“I started going by the name Mary when I began high school, because teachers couldn’t pronounce my name,” she said, adding that she re-claimed her name when she began modelling professionally.
“I’m not Mary anymore,” she says. “I want to be Adut; Adut is unique.”
FORAY INTO FASHION
In 2019, Akech told Vogue: “I’ve always grown up around a lot of family members, so family is very big to me, and my family is everything to me”.
Akech also has family to thank for her foray into the world of fashion.
As The Advertiser’s Anna Vlach reported, Akech made her runway debut at the age of 13, after her aunt, who owned a boutique, invited her to take part in a parade.
Akech says that moment proved to be a revelation.
“I knew I wanted to be a model the first time I walked down a runway,” she said.
Three years later, while visiting family in Melbourne, a then 16-year-old Akech walked into the modelling agency Chadwick Models and changed the course of her life forever.
“Chadwick Models took me on from the minute that they saw me,” Akech said.
Within weeks, Akech had made her Australian modelling debut at Sydney’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, signed with two major modelling agencies, Elite World and The Society in New York, and walked at Melbourne Fashion Week.
But that was just the beginning.
INTERNATIONAL FASHION DEBUT
Five months after walking into Melbourne’s Chadwick Models on a whim, Akech was on her way to Paris after signing an exclusive two-season deal with Saint Laurent.
But her international debut wasn’t exactly all plain sailing.
Akech’s foot had swelled on the flight to France and was also infected by a piece of glass, rendering her unable to walk - a fairly important prerequisite for an aspiring model!
“I spent my first eight hours in Paris at the hospital,” Akech recalled.
“I could not walk … I was crying that they were going to cut me from the show.”
But for every problem, there is a solution and Akech found hers just in time.
“I had my shoes changed very last minute – one foot was a size 38 the other a 41 – but I did the show … and that was the start of my international career,” Akech laughs.
“And from Saint Laurent it’s just been non-stop for the past three years”.
‘SHE’S THE BIGGEST MODEL IN THE WORLD’
After walking for Saint Laurent in 2016 and again in 2017, Akech shot four campaigns for the brand - in Paris, New York, LA and Tokyo.
She also flew to London to work on the iconic annual Pirelli calendar, where she met legendary supermodel Naomi Campbell, who became a friend and mentor.
“When I moved to New York I’d go to her apartment and we’d have lunch or dinner,” Akech told Grazia.
“She would give me so much advice. Since then, our relationship has just grown and grown. “She was the first family I had in New York. She’s like a second mother.”
In August, 2017, Akech brought her new-found star power home to Australia when she was chosen to be the face of department store David Jones’ Spring Summer campaign.
The next year she made history, being chosen by Karl Lagerfeld to be the bride in Chanel’s Autumn show at Paris Fashion Week in 2018 - the second only black model chosen to close a Chanel Couture show, after South Sudanese-British model Alek Wek in 2004.
Posting about the show on Instagram, where Akech now boasts 1.8m followers, Akech called the opportunity “a lifetime honour”.
“There is (sic) no amount of words that can express what this moment means to me. The beauty of having a dream, is watching it come to life,” she wrote.
“It was a lifetime honour being the chosen bride to close your beautiful show in the MOST breathtaking dress I have ever seen in my life. This was just a special moment that I will always remember and cherish for as long as I live.”
Edwina McCann, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Australia, said the show just served to highlight what a huge star Akech had become.
“I remember when Karl Lagerfeld brought her out at the end of the Chanel show [in 2018], thinking, ‘Wow, that’s a big acknowledgment.
“Adut truly is a supermodel – she’s the biggest model in the world. And she has this great story.”
MAGAZINE’S ‘RACIST’ MIX UP
In August, 2019, the gossip and entertainment magazine Who was forced to apologise after publishing a photo of model Flavia Lazarus and captioning it with Akech’s name.
A spokesperson for the magazine said the mix up happened after the agency that set up the interview with Akech supplied the wrong photo and that it had apologised “sincerely” both to Akech and Lazarus for the error.
Speaking to reporters after the incident, Akech said she accepted the mistake was unintentional still “racist”.
“It was a mistake. But it does come across … you wouldn’t mix up two white models’ names or use another white girl,” she said.
In an Instagram post she said she was not out to “bash” the magazine, but she was left feeling “angry” and “disrespected” and felt compelled to speak about her feelings publicly, especially because she spoke in her interview about how people view refugees, and attitudes to colour “in general”.
“Not only do I personally feel insulted and disrespected but I feel like my entire race has been disrespected too and it is why I feel it is important that I address this issue. Whoever did this clearly thought that was me in that picture and that’s not okay.”
“By this happening I feel like it defeated the purpose of what I stand for and spoke about.”
Lazarus said she was hurt and embarrassed by the mix-up and felt bad for Akech.
“I felt bad for (her), she has worked her butt off.
“It makes you feel invisible that you could do all this work but you won’t be remembered.”
“It is a racial issue, this wouldn’t happen to a white girl,” she said.
I F***ING DID IT!
Akech’s incredible achievements in the industry were formally recognised in late 2019 when she was named Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards, where she took the opportunity to call for greater diversity, inclusivity and representation, not just in fashion but in society generally.
“This award is bigger than me, it’s bigger than just a title in the industry,” she said in a moving acceptance speech.
“It’s for the little girls and boys who are not heard and seen. It’s for refugees all around the world who are in a tough position in their life right now and feel like there’s no way out.
“To them I say this; whatever it is that you want to do, whether it’s modelling or acting or medicine, you should never doubt yourselves or let the world convince you that it’s not possible. Because if a little dark-skinned, South Sudanese refugee who came from absolutely nothing can do it, so can you.”
Posting to Instagram the day after her win Akech wrote “Meet the South Sudanese refugee girl who comes from nothing, who become (sic) your 2019 “Model of the Year” last night at the BFA. I F***ING DID IT!!!”
Akech’s mentor, Naomi Campbell, was also recognised at the same ceremony, picking up the Fashion Icon award.
TIME 100 Next list
As well as being showered with accolades from her own industry, in 2019 Akech was generating buzz more broadly in the culture.
In November, Akech was named on Time’s inaugural 100 Next list, showcasing 100 “rising stars” shaping the future of business, entertainment, sports, politics, science and health.
Of Akech, the publication observed: “If there’s anyone who embodies the future of fashion, it’s Adut Akech” and cited her multiple appearances on the cover of Vogue, her closing of the 2018 Chanel show and her “concerted efforts” to make the fashion industry more inclusive, call out racism and amplify the stories of other refugees.
THE ‘WORST YEAR OF MY LIFE’
Akech has been open about her struggles with anxiety and depression.
In January, 2019, she revealed on Instagram she had “suffered from really bad depression and anxiety for a while now” and urged others struggling with their mental health to seek help.
Speaking to SAWeekend magazine later in 2019, Akech said: “I think that is something I have had for a few years now, but I just never knew it, and when everything started getting too much with work and things that were happening in my personal life, I think that’s when I realised I had problems and needed help because I didn’t feel like myself.
“It was very hard for me to open up and talk to someone about it but once I did it was probably the biggest relief of my life,” she said.
In January, 2020, Akech took to Instagram again to declare 2019 had been ‘the worst year of my life’ for ‘Adut the human, not Adut the model’.
“After losing some family members I went into (a) dark place, I got really depressed and I started losing myself,” she wrote.
It was at that moment, she said, she knew she needed to put her mental health first and started seeing a professional therapist.
She said she continued to suffer terrible anxiety and had panic attacks “every night for months” and so took a two month break to spend time with family and focus on getting well.
“Every day was a struggle but I did everything I could to get a better mental state of mind.
“I started feeling better and I started seeing things clearer.
“I’ve been growing and evolving everyday. I’m at a point in my life where if someone or something is not bringing positivity into my life it has to go.
“I share my journey because I know someone somewhere is going through the same thing.
“I want them (to) know they’re not alone.”
THE NEW FACE OF ESTEE LAUDER
In June, 2021 Akech notched up yet another career achievement after she was signed by cosmetics company Estee Lauder as a Global Brand Ambassador. The deal has seen Akech appear in makeup and skincare campaigns across digital, print, TV and in stores.
Akech said joining the brand was “a dream come true”.
ADUT EXPANDS HER PROPERTY PORTFOLIO
In September, 2021 Akech revealed she had just purchased her first home in the US, a modern A$3.7m pad in LA’s Studio City neighbourhood and her fifth property in total.
Writing on Instagram, the 21-year-old said she was usually “quiet” about her personal life “but this one is TOO big of an achievement and proud moment for me to not share with the world”.
“I sit back reflect on my life and the things I have achieved within my career and personal life.... and damn I’m so bloody PROUD of myself for staying focused and working my ass off to get here,” she said.
I remind myself every single day how extremely BLESSED and FORTUNATE I am and for that I’m beyond GRATEFUL to God, my family, to the people in my life that courage (sic) me to keep pushing.
“To the people who have given me the opportunities that have led to moments like this. I’m grateful to my supporters who motivate me everyday. THANK YOU!!!!”
FAMILY FOLLOWING IN ADUT’S FOOTSTEPS
Adut’s younger brother, Bior, is following in the footsteps of his famous sister.
As Anna Vlach reports, Bior, 17, is set to feature alongside Adut in the April 2023 edition of Vogue Australia in a series of three sunning covers for collectable editions.
Bior made his fashion debut when Adut’s family was featured in the November 2018 edition of Vogue Australia.
Speaking to the magazine for the April issue, Adut described her only brother as “my little baby”.
“I raised him basically since that day and I watched him grow up from then to this point.”
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