Apart from showing off beautiful clothes, these gorgeous black fashion models are also needed in certain spaces, to magnify coloured voices, and to provide representation for other black women who are interested in modelling.
Apart from the change that these black fashion models can bring just by being themselves, they are also showing that beauty is not just physical.
Beauty can come in many forms, like in model, Winnie Harlow, one of the most popular models walking the runway today. She also has a skin condition, vitiligo which caused her to be bullied for a long time.
People like Winnie and other black fashion models on this list are changing the fashion game and showing people that there is more to beauty than just being skin deep.
Enjoy the list below:
1. Winnie Harlow
Chantelle Whitney Brown-Young, known popularly as Winnie Harlow, is a Canadian and one of the top black fashion models in the world. She is also an activist on the skin condition, vitiligo.
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She shot to fame in 2014 as a contestant on the twenty-first season of the American television series America’s Next Top Model.
She was diagnosed with the chronic skin condition vitiligo, characterised by depigmentation of portions of the skin, at the age of four. This caused her to become a victim of bullying.
Harlow was discovered by America’s Next Top Model host, Tyra Banks, on Instagram, and subsequently became one of the fourteen finalists on the show in 2014 and was the only Canadian ever cast on the show.
She was eliminated in the second week of the finals. Following her elimination from America’s Next Top Model, Harlow modelled for the Spanish clothing brand Desigual and became their official brand representative.
She has modelled for fashion magazines such as i-D and Dazed. She has also modelled for Diesel, Glamour magazine, Complex magazine, and Cosmopolitan.
She was featured on Vogue Italia’s website in an interview and accompanying photoshoot. She has also been in a commercial for Sprite and Swarovski. The same year, she was chosen as one of BBC’s 100 Women. In 2018, she modelled at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.
Harlow has appeared in music videos; these including JMSN’s ‘The One’, Eminem’s ‘Guts Over Fear’, Calvin Harris’ ‘Promises’, and The Black Eyed Peas’ ‘#WHERESTHELOVE’. She was also in Beyoncé’s, visual album, Lemonade.
Winnie is also an activist, speaking widely about her skin condition. She writes in Glamour: “We have to keep educating people. When the Evening Standard ran a picture of me with a caption describing me as a vitiligo ‘sufferer,’ it tore me to shreds. I said to my agent, ‘WTF. Again? Is this a joke?’
“That’s how I feel every single time I see that word placed beside my name. It’s something I see often, so I felt like I should say something. Just because you see someone with whatever it is, even a pimple, you don’t get to say that they are suffering. It’s very rude for anyone to describe me as a sufferer, and it takes away from everything else — I’m 100 percent excelling in everything I do.”
2. Jourdan Dunn
Jourdan Sherise Dunn is an English supermodel and actress. She was discovered in Hammersmith Primark in 2006 and signed to Storm Management in London shortly thereafter.
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She began appearing on international runways in early 2007 and quickly rose to become one of the most popular black fashion models. In February 2008, she was the first black model to walk a Prada runway in over a decade.
In April 2014, it was announced that Dunn was signed as the new face of Maybelline New York. As of July 2014, she was declared an icon by models.com. Dunn is considered to be one of this generation’s supermodels.
She has been in campaigns for Ann Taylor, Burberry, Balmain, Calvin Klein, Yves Saint Laurent, DKNY, Michael Kors, John Galliano, Victoria’s Secret, Tommy Hilfiger, Topshop, Kate Spade, Express, Jaeger, Rag & Bone, Gap, Aldo, Shiatzy Chen, Benetton, H&M, Banana Republic, Zalando, Free People, Selfridges, Neiman Marcus, Pepe Jeans, Liu Jo and Saks Fifth Avenue, and was the face of Rihanna’s collections for River Island.
She has appeared in editorials for the American, Italian, French, British, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, Japanese, Brazilian editions of Vogue, Elle, i-D, Dazed & Confused, W, Pop, Centrefold and V, among others.
Jourdan Dunn announced her pregnancy at the age of 18 and continued to walk on the runway until she was six months pregnant and could not fit into the clothes.
To everyone’s surprise, however, she returned to work ten weeks later, citing her son as her motivation.
“Not even just for young girls, but for women in general, we have to stop comparing ourselves to other people, to celebrities, to our friends, to sisters, whoever, and just embrace you and remember that there’s only one you,” Dunn told Wonderland.
“The things you can’t change, learn to love and embrace, and the things that you can change — if that’s going to make you feel good — then change. Accept all your flaws, then no one then can use them against you. Turn the negatives into positives, that’s what I’ve done.”
3. Duckie Thot
Nyadak ‘Duckie’ Thot is an Australian fashion model. Thot finished in third place on the eighth cycle of Australia’s Next Top Model, and made her runway debut at the Yeezy Summer 2017 show.
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She is best known as the face of Fenty Beauty as well as playing the lead role in the Alice in Wonderland-inspired 2018 Pirelli Calendar. She is also one of the most popular American fashion models working today.
Duckie was introduced to the modelling industry by her sister, Nikki, who chaperoned her on photo shoots. From there, Thot became inspired to audition for cycle eight of Australia’s Next Top Model, where she finished third.
Thot first tried to start a modelling career in Melbourne, where she found little success due to her darker complexion. She made the decision to move to Brooklyn, New York in hopes that she could become a more successful model in America. After scheduling meetings with multiple modelling agencies, Thot flew to New York. In New York, she got multiple offers to sign with agencies and ultimately chose to sign with New York Model Management.
Thot has done campaigns for Fenty x Puma, Fenty Beauty, Moschino, Balmain, and Oscar de la Renta. She debuted in the 2018 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. She appeared on the cover art for CHIC’s album It’s About Time, which was released in September 2018.
“When we talk about diversity in fashion and beauty, we often don’t talk about what that means behind the scenes: stylists, photographers, makeup artists,” Thot told Allure.
“I’m often the only black woman on set. I’ll remember doing the Pirelli calendar [shoot] with an all-black cast — RuPaul, Lupita Nyong’o — for the rest of my life.”
4. Diandra Forrest
Diandra Forrest is an African-American model and actress. She is the first female model with albinism to be signed to a major modelling agency. Her striking beauty has caught the attention of many magazines and she has walked in numerous international fashion shows.
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Diandra Forrest was signed with a major modelling agency, Elite Models NY, and later Krush Model Management NY. Since she started a career in modelling, she has appeared in magazines like Ebony and in music videos for Beyoncé and Kanye West.
“It is not easy being a person with albinism because of the lack of understanding of what the condition is, even in the modelling industry where I have been working for the past few years,” Forrest says.
“People with albinism are looked at as something that is maybe extra-terrestrial, an odd beauty, not just a regular beauty, whatever that is. It can be fun and entertaining but it should not be a freak show.”
5. Slick Woods
Simone Thompson, popularly known as Slick Woods, is an American fashion model and actress, known for her bald head, gapped teeth, and tattoos. She is considered one of the most popular black fashion models on social media and beyond.
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She has most notably modelled for Rihanna and Marc Jacobs. She has appeared in several international editions of Vogue and a campaign for Calvin Klein. She is featured in the 2018 Pirelli calendar alongside celebrities such as Naomi Campbell, Lupita Nyong’o, and Diddy.
As of February 2018, she is ranked on the Top 50 Models list on models.com. Woods was discovered by model Ash Stymest. She has done campaigns for Moschino and Calvin Klein.
She has appeared in runway shows for Fenty x Puma, Yeezy, Fendi, Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu and Jeremy Scott. In magazines, she has been in American Vogue, Vogue Italia, Vogue Japan, Glamour, i-D, Jalouse, Net-a-porter, Dazed, V and Love. She has also modelled for Urban Outfitters.
In September 2017, Woods was revealed to be one of the faces of Rihanna’s makeup brand, Fenty Beauty.
Woods appeared on the sixth season of Love and Hip Hop: Hollywood. She appeared in the 2020 film Goldie, in which she was praised for “a stunning debut performance”.
6. Adut Akech
Adut Akech Bior is a South Sudanese-Australian model and one of the top black fashion models in the world.
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Akech made her fashion week runway debut as an exclusive in the 2017 Saint Laurent show and went on to close both their Fall 2017 and Summer 2018 shows. In 2018, she was chosen as ‘Model of the Year’ by models.com, an honour which was repeated the next year.
She was seven years old when she moved away from Kenya (where she was raised) along with her mother to Adelaide, Australia as South Sudanese refugees.
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, Australia. Within the fashion industry, she prefers her birth name, Adut.
Adut Akech has also walked for Alexander McQueen, Givenchy, Kenzo, Prada, Lanvin, Loewe, Miu Miu, Acne Studios, Tom Ford, Tory Burch, Jason Wu, Bottega Veneta, Anna Sui, Calvin Klein, JW Anderson, Simone Rocha, Burberry, Off-white, Ellery, Jil Sander, Giambattista Valli, Proenza Schouler and Versace.
She has shot editorials for American Vogue, British Vogue, Vogue Italia, Vogue Paris, I-D Magazine, Le Monde M Magazine, Modern Matter, Numéro, The Gentlewoman, WSJ., T Magazine and Vogue Australia. Akech has landed magazine covers for I-D Magazine, 10 Magazine Australia, Vogue Italia, British Vogue, Vogue Australia, Portrait, Elle Croatia, L’Officiel Singapore and Le Monde M Magazine.
She was one of fifteen women selected to appear on the cover of the September 2019 issue of British Vogue, by guest editor Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.
“I don’t want to just be known as Adut Akech the model. I want to build a legacy,” she tells Allure. “I don’t feel like I only represent black girls; I want to represent anyone who started from nothing and had to work their way up. I want to inspire.”
The model is also currently in a relationship with Nigerian singer, Runtown.
7. Jillian Mercado
Jillian Mercado is an American fashion model who is represented by IMG Models. As a wheelchair user (due to muscular dystrophy), she is one of the few professional models who have a physical disability in the fashion industry.
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A prominent figure in the new wave of models challenging beauty ideals in the fashion industry, Mercado is keen to fight the lack of representation of people with disabilities in the fashion industry and their enduring stigma.
Diagnosed with spastic muscular dystrophy as a child, she believes her interest in fashion originated from her mother, a dressmaker, and her father, once a shoe salesman.
In 2014, Mercado featured in her first campaign, for designer denim brand Diesel, for which she was selected by Nicola Formichetti. Its success captured the attention of IMG Models President Ivan Bart and landed her a modelling contract with IMG in August 2015.
She has since starred in several campaigns for Nordstrom as well as in former Vogue Paris editor Carine Roitfeld’s CR Fashion Book where she was photographed by Michael Avedon.
In March 2016, Mercado was announced as one of three models to appear in the latest campaign for Beyoncé’s official website, promoting merchandise for the singer’s new single and 2016 Formation world tour. She has been open about her battle with muscular dystrophy.
“Working with IMG, my goal is to make it so that I am not the model in the wheelchair and I’m just the model,” Mercado tells Vogue.
“If I can do big shows like Alexander Wang or Chanel and not be seen as the token girl, that goes a long way toward challenging perceptions. There is still so much change that needs to happen, but I want to make way for whoever has that mindset that I had when I was younger. I want the people who were hesitant in pursuing fashion because of the way that people might perceive them to know there is a place for them.”
8. Precious Lee
Precious Lee is an American fashion model who was discovered at an open casting call in Atlanta, Georgia when she was 18 years old.
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Since then, she has worked with famous brands like Target, Lane Bryant, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Nordstrom. Lee was also the first black, plus-sized woman to be featured in Sports Illustrated and Vogue.
Precious Lee became the first African-African plus-size model to appear in Sports Illustrated’s annual Swimsuit Issue in 2016. She also starred in Lane Bryant’s viral campaigns #ImNoAngel, #PlusIsEqual and #ThisBody.
“I think the focus should be less on trying to figure out how we feel about our bodies,” Lee tells Harper’s Bazaar.
“I went through this phase where I had to wear certain designers on red carpets just to prove them wrong. I’m a naturally fashionable person. I’m not afraid to mix and match and do high-lows from price points to colours to prints, but it’s important to remain within my truth and wear things that I want to wear without focusing on trying to convince designers that curvy women are worthy enough for their product.”
9. Maria Borges
Maria Borges is an Angolan model. She is one of the top black fashion models in the world and was named Forbes Africa Magazine’s top model of 2013. She is a Riccardo Tisci favourite and she calls him her “godfather”.
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Maria Borges was born in Luanda, Angola and raised by her siblings during the Angolan Civil War. She was discovered in 2010 when she placed second at the Angolan edition of Elite Model Look.
In 2012, she signed with Supreme Agency. One month later, she debuted her first fashion week where she walked 17 runways. For her second season, she was a Givenchy exclusive.
Borges has appeared in editorials for French, Italian, British, Spanish, German, and Portuguese Vogue, German and Australian Harper’s Bazaar, Brazilian Marie Claire, French Numèro, V, W, i-D, and Interview.
In 2017, Maria Borges was the first African woman to feature on the cover of the American version of ELLE, 20 years after Sudanese model Alek Wek did so in 1997.
She has walked the runway for Anna Sui, Badgley Mischka, Balmain, Banana Republic, Blumarine, Carolina Herrera, Costello Tagliapietra, Custo Barcelona, Daks, Diane von Fürstenberg, Dior, Dsquared2, Elie Saab, Emanuel Ungaro, Emporio Armani, Erdem, Ermanno Scervino, Gianfranco Ferre, Giorgio Armani, Givenchy, Jason Wu, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Jeremy Scott, Jonathan Saunders, Kenzo, Loewe, Marc Jacobs, Marchesa, and Margaret Howell.
She has also worked with Matthew Williamson, Max Mara, Maxime Simoens, Missoni, Monique Lhuillier, Moschino, Naeem Khan, Narciso Rodriguez, Oscar de la Renta, Philipp Plein, Ports 1961, Prabal Gurung, Ralph Lauren, Ralph Rucci, Salvatore Ferragamo, Temperley, Tom Ford, Trussardi, Versace, Victoria’s Secret, Vionnet, Wes Gordon and Zac Posen, among others.
Borges appeared in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show from 2013-2017. She has also appeared in campaigns for Givenchy, Tommy Hilfiger, H&M, Bobbi Brown, C&A, L’Oréal, Mac Cosmetics, and Forever 21.
“I have so many goals for myself in my career, so many,” She tells Vogue. “Obviously I’d love a Vogue cover, and it’s important to me in the future to do charity work in Africa, where I’m from.”
10. Adesuwa Aighewi
Adesuwa Thongpond Pariyasapat Aighewi, known simply as Adesuwa Aighewi, is an American fashion model and filmmaker.
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Adesuwa Aighewi was born in Minnesota to a Thai-born Chinese mother and a Nigerian father. Before she started her career in modelling, she was a chemistry student at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
She has also interned for NASA before launching her career. In 2018, she was chosen as the runner up for Breakout Star of the Year by models.com. As of January 2019, Aighewi ranks as one of the top 50 models by models.com.
Aighewi was discovered on campus during her time at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
Since then, she has walked for Alexander Wang, Coach, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Kenzo, Kate Spade, Miu Miu, Bottega Veneta, Marc Jacobs, Yeezy, Michael Kors, Prabal Gurung, Christian Dior, Fendi, and Tommy Hilfiger among others.
She has also appeared in advertisements for Tom Ford, Marc Jacobs, Vera Wang, and Chanel. Adesuwa’s break out video ‘Spring in Harlem’ was launched in collaboration with LOVE.com and was covered by Forbes.
Adesuwa has also appeared in more than one Childish Gambino music video and a Diana Gordon music video.
Conclusion
More changemakers are needed all over the world, especially as the world continues to search for new, brave people to lead a change and a revolution in different industries in the world.
These 10 black fashion models are leading the change in the fashion industry and transforming the narrative, doing their best to educate the public just by being themselves.
Which of these black fashion models did you already know about and which did you find out about from this list? We would love to hear from you. Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.
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