Adut Akech & Kiki Cover Vogue Australia November 2025 by Campbell Addy
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Now that Anne has gotten over seeing supermodel Adut Akech [above] wearing Jarrod Reid, reminding her of famed ballet dancer Judith Jamison on stage in ‘Cry’, she can think straight.
If only AOC could commission photographer Campbell Addy [IG], creator of these stunning images for the November 2025 issue of Vogue Australia [IG], to capture that famous, powerful and transformational American ballet with his creative eye.
Adut is styled by Kaila Matthews in Versace for the cover [below] accented with jewelry from Cartier, Tiffany & Co and Van Cleef & Arpels. Other luxury labels in ‘A Plus’ include Ashi Studio, Courreges, Dior, Jarrod Reid, YSL and more. / Hair by Laura Mazikana; makeup by Victoria Baron; set design by Ibby Njoya
Campbell Addy also takes the interview, which is really nice. You can read the interview on Vogue Australia.
Adut’s Advice to Kiki
Artist Addy asks Adut what advice she would give to daughter Kiki when she grows up.
“I would give her the same advice I was given, and that is, no matter what you do in this life or where you go, or where your journey takes you, do your absolute best to try and remain true to your authentic self.”
“I would tell my baby… not to stress herself out on why things are not happening the way she’s expecting, or as quick as they should be happening. Whatever the case, if it’s meant for you, it’s going to be for you. I am going to just do my absolute best to make sure that she is a good person and has a good heart and she’s kind to others.”
The Glory of Black Beauty
You had to be there decades ago, watching Jamison perform ‘Cry’, a solo ballet created for her in 1971 by choreographer Alvin Ailey. An audience of all nationalities and skin colors — UN in New York along with all the rest of us creative and professional expats from elsewhere in America and the world — gathered for each annual performance of ‘Cry’.
Watching Jamison was a profound, collective, immersive and shared experience for many ticket holders.
I can’t imagine that Tyler Mitchell hasn’t see both ‘Cry’ and Ailey’s most celebrated masterpiece ‘Revelations’ [1960], but being British-Ghanian, Campbell Addy not so much. And Judith Jamison herself, passed in November 2024.
Enough Anne. This is about Adut’s life and the birth of her daughter Kiki, for whom she has limitless love.
“I didn’t think it was possible to love a human being this much,” Akech Bior says of motherhood. “And it’s a different love. I love my mum, I love my siblings, I love my man, but this love, I can’t describe it.”
The Absolute Crisis in South Sudan
On a separate note, Anne wishes to remind us all that the situation in South Sudan — Adut’s original home — has decended into deadly chaos in the last two years. 14 million people have fled, making it the world's largest displacement crisis.
In 2024, USAID provided 44% of Sudan's total $1.8 billion humanitarian response, but following the February 2025 tax cuts demanded by Republican billionaires, the UN's own annual fund for Sudan was only 23% funded, and many community kitchens were forced to shut down.
I will write a separate post about the situation, so as not to be disruptive in such a beautiful fashion story. It is my opinion that the fashion industry should get cracking NOW to offer help! That includes all of us. ~ Anne
