By Zen Magazine Africa.
They walk the runways for fashions biggest brands, starring in some of the most innovative and ground-breaking campaigns across the world. 2014 has seen the rise of African models in the fashion world and with the way social media impacts our daily lives, these models are the top African models who are tweeting, instagramming and blazing trails globally; earning their place in the history of fashion. Here’s a look, courtesy of Zen Magazine, at the 10 hottest African models in high demand across the world dated from April 2014.
10, Anais Mali:- 1 part Chadian and 1 part Polish, the French born Anais Mali made an enviable debut into the world of fashion participating in the hit L.A.M.B presentation in 2009. The stunning Anais has gone on to work with some of fashion’s most consistent names including Vivienne Westwood, Betsey Johnson, Jean Paul Gaultier, Marc Jacobs, Vera Wang and the list is endless. She has also made coveted features in. I.D Vogue Italia, Vogue, French Vogue and a few others. Fashion watchdog Style.it previously named the willowy model one to watch this 2014.
9, Fatima Siad:- This Somali-born runway favourite of mine first came into the limelight after placing 3rd on the 10th cycle of ‘America’s Next Top Model‘. Since that very day, Fatima has evolved into a top model in her own right. She has participated in campaigns for Avon, Ralph Lauren and cosmetics giant Pantene. Fatima has walked for some of fashion’s most coveted designers including Ralph Lauren, Dries Van Noten, Hermes and many others. This year, she has already stormed the runways at New York Fashion Week andthe London Fashion Week.
8, Candice Swanepoel:- The South African born Victoria’s Secret model has done it all. Candice has walked the runways for some of the world’s biggest brands like Jean Paul Gaultier, Stella McCartney andChanel. Shehas also scored some of the biggest covers in the world from Vogue Italia toVogue Brazil and has starred in campaigns for Swarovski, Gucci, Diesel and many more. She has made the Forbes Top 10 earning models list and is currently the only African model to wear the $10 million Fantasy Bra by Swiss jeweller Mouawad.
7, Liya Kebede:- This iconic Ethiopian model returned in spectacular form this year with her runway turn at NYFW. With 17 years under her belt, she doesn’t look like she is ready to stop and God knows we don’t want her to stop either. One of Zen Magazine Top 10 African women of the year, Liya has practically worked with all the biggest names in the fashion industry. She is currently the face of Prabal Gurung’s Spring Summer 2014 collection and was previously named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most influential people in the world.
6, Malaika Firth:- This Kenyan beauty shot to the limelight when she became the first black person since Naomi Campbell in 1994 to clinch a Prada campaign. She has since walked the runway for several high profile houses and at the moment is the face of Valentino’s Spring/Summer 2014 campaign.
5, Roberta Narciso:- The beautiful Roberta hails from Angola and is one model to watch this 2014. Starring in campaigns such as Legion: An army of beauty and a few others, she was also part of the Fall/Winter Campaign forBanana Republic. She has walked the runway for luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and has also been seen working with award-winning designer Elie Saab.
Ajak Deng:- A native of Southern Sudan like the iconic Alek Wek, Ajak has been on the scene for a short while. This striking Sudanese was the face of Kate Spade’s Spring Summer 2013 campaign and regularly struts the runway for the likes of Givenchy, Lanvin and Chloe.
3. Betty Adewole:- Nigerian-British stunner and face of Tom Ford Beauty has previously worked for luxury brands like Maison Martin Margiela, Emmanuel Ungaro and Issey Miyake. She was also at the 2014 NYFW in New York and in February got featured in Net-a-Porter’s “The Edit” Magazine.
2. Maria Borges:- Angolan born bombshell, Maria Borges continues to prove her star power, head lining campaigns with Tommy Hilfiger, Banana Republic andGivenchy to name a few. Most recently, she was at the NYFW strutting her stuff beside Erykah Badu for Richard Tisci’s much talked about Spring Summer 2014 collection.
1. Herieth Paul:- Born in Tanzania, Herieth currently enjoys a spot on Model.com’s hot list and has worked in some of the biggest campaigns in the world including Stella McCartney, Tom Ford, Calvin Klein and One Colour Cosmetics. Herieth has also appeared in beauty campaigns for CKone and most recently, as one of the models for fashion wear brand GAP.
