Adut Akech, Gigi Hadid, He Cong, Imaan Hammam V139 Magazine by Adrienne Raquel AOC Fashion

Updated with Gigi Hadid, He Cong, Imaan Hammam

Adut Akech covers V139 Magazine, Supermodel, Superhero issue, available now for purchase here. Adut is styled by Gro Curtis in super sparkle, preview images glamour from the 2023 Gucci Cruise Collection. Photographer Adrienne Raquel [IG] is behind the lens, with text by Czar Van Gaal.

Adut’s five-year rise from a South Sudan, Australian Refugee to REAL supermodel status is well known by now. Being a Global Ambassador for Estee Lauder, announced in June 2021, goes a long way in wearing the real-deal supernodel crown.

Adut’s career was launched when she closed the Saint Laurent spring/summer 2018 show in Paris. Many young people in fashion — or outsiders with lots to say — think the industry only turned towards models of color post-George Floyd and the rise of BLM.

This is not true. Demands for change and the topic of racism in the fashion industry was much discussed and acted upon before the brutal murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis.

Adut backs up her style with substance, working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to promote causes that support refugees around the world. I wish fashion world would ask more questions about Adut’s activism, as promoted by Estee Lauder.

Adut Akech has always promised herself that she would not forget her beginnings . . . that whatever her level of success in fashon, she would always be a refugee. Adut tells V139:

My mom would always tell me, “Never lose yourself. No matter what, don’t forget where you came from. Don’t forget who you are.” I live by these rules every day. I think being in this industry, and having a certain level of success, it’s very easy to lose yourself and get lost. I made a promise to myself when I started that I would never lose myself. I’ll always know who I am, where I come from and my background. I’ll never be ashamed of things like being a refugee or growing up in a refugee camp. People used to make me feel bad about it back in the day. But I have used what was weaponized, as a [source] of empowerment.