Adut Akech

All products featured on Vogue are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Sandal season is in full force, but some of the most stylish stars are zigging while everyone else is zagging. Instead of the tried-and-true sandal/dress combo, summer dresses and boot outfits have been populating street style images. Turns out, there’s no need to wait until fall to wear those combat boots.

Sandal season is in full force, but some of the most stylish stars are zigging while everyone else is zagging. Instead of the tried-and-true sandal/dress combo, summer dresses and boot outfits have been populating street style images. Turns out, there’s no need to wait until fall to wear those combat boots.

Adut Akech might be one of the most in-demand models in fashion today, but she hasn’t always felt as welcome in the beauty space. “I didn’t see anybody that looked like me”, she tells me over Zoom, speaking of her upbringing in Australia, where her family arrived as refugees when she was seven.

If you know fashion, you know Adut Akech. Since her 2016 debut in Anthony Vaccarello’s first Saint Laurent runway show, she’s walked for every major house you can think of: Valentino, Dior, Chanel, Givenchy, Versace, and Prada, among others. Now, she’s taking over the beauty realm as the newest global brand ambassador for iconic skin care and makeup brand Estée Lauder. “I remember… I would see these makeup and fragrance ads, and I would think to myself, ‘Could that be me one day?’” Akech says, reflecting on her new title. “But it's not something that I saw happening for me. I didn't see myself represented in the beauty space. Throughout time that has obviously changed, and it is me today.”

These are the stories making headlines in fashion on Thursday. Adut Akech is now an Estée Lauder global brand ambassador. Estée Lauder announced on Thursday that model Adut Akech would be its new global brand ambassador. "Makeup has always really been fun for me," she told Vogue, noting that she was first introduced to the brand through YouTube ads and international airport billboards. She joins a cohort that includes Karlie Kloss, Grace Elizabeth and Carolyn Murphy; her first campaign is expected to drop in July. {Vogue}

When Adut Akech began modeling professionally at the tender age of 16, she had an unfortunate introduction to the industry. “My hair got burned,” the now 21-year-old South Sudan–born runway star recalls of a time not long ago when having a like-minded hairstylist or makeup artist of color on set or backstage was rare. “Our hair doesn’t need heat and everyone started straightening my hair. So I shaved my head—I went bald,” Akech continues of a formative beauty decision that both empowered her and helped cement her status on the catwalk. “Now, I know to say, ‘No, this is not the right shade for my skin tone,’ or ‘No, this does not work with my hair.’ I want new faces to be vocal about this stuff, too. That’s one thing I want to see change.” Her platform to help exact this kind of advancement just got a whole lot bigger: Today, Akech becomes the newest global brand ambassador of Estée Lauder.

Estée Lauder has signed one of the fashion industry's brightest stars, Adut Akech, as its newest global brand ambassador. Akech will feature in makeup and skincare campaigns across digital, in-store, TV and print, with her first campaigns debuting July 2021. She joins the current roster of Estée Lauder global talent, including Ana de Armas, Anok Yai, Bianca Brandolini D'Adda, Carolyn Murphy, Diana Penty, Grace Elizabeth, Karlie Kloss, Kōki and Yang Mi.

NEW YORK, June 3, 2021 /CNW/ -- Estée Lauder today announced that it has signed one of the fashion industry's brightest stars, Adut Akech, as its newest Global Brand Ambassador. Adut will feature in makeup and skincare campaigns across digital, in-store, TV and print, with her first campaigns debuting July 2021. Adut joins the current roster of Estée Lauder global talent, including Ana de Armas, Anok Yai, Bianca Brandolini D'Adda, Carolyn Murphy, Diana Penty, Grace Elizabeth, Karlie Kloss, Kōki and Yang Mi.

This past week on Instagram reminded us to let our natural skin shine through this summer. Zoë Kravitz caught some sunlight while rocking cornrows and a touch of YSL’s Touche Éclat concealer, while model Neelam Kaur Gill rang in her 26th year with a peachy glow and silky strands. As for Adut Akech? She was “giving” major glow while serving up a sleek ponytail.

Campaigns shot remotely, Covid-19 testing backstage at fashion shows, socially distanced cover stories… Despite the fashion industry — and the world — looking a little different over the past year, one thing’s stayed the same: supermodel Adut Akech has been very busy. When it was safe to do so we...

All the best supermodels have fairytale origin stories. They are bullied at school: too tall, too flat-chested, too strange-looking. Boys prefer their more comely peers. They grow up believing themselves to be unlovable, even social outcasts. And then an outsider swoops in – perhaps at an airport (Kate Moss), in Primark (Jourdan Dunn), or McDonald’s (Gisele Bündchen). The scout plucks them from obscurity and drops them into a life of international travel, money and acclaim. Their self-doubt is sloughed away like dead skin. Bullies stand chastened. The supermodel triumphs.

The model opens up about how she’s coped, what she’s learnt and why she’s all about optimism for the future. To say that 2020 has been a disappointing year would be an understatement. With a global pandemic turning our lives upside down, it has not always been easy to keep smiles on our faces. However, supermodel Adut Akech is determined to remember some of the more positive moments that 2020 has given us, and is channelling all kinds of optimism for what might be next.