{"id":35121,"date":"2021-09-17T08:59:58","date_gmt":"2021-09-17T08:59:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=35121"},"modified":"2021-09-17T12:59:30","modified_gmt":"2021-09-17T12:59:30","slug":"alex-wek-cover-one-teaser","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/alex-wek-cover-one-teaser\/","title":{"rendered":"Supermodel Alek Wek Wants To Embrace The World"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Alek
Alek Wek, photographed by Columbine Goldsmith. Styled by Emily Mazur. JW Anderson dress, price upon request, jwanderson.com<\/a>; Tiffany & Co. Knot earrings in yellow gold with diamonds, $2,800, Elsa Peretti small Bone cuff in 18k gold, $13,500, tiffany.com<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At 44-years-old, South Sudan-born supermodel Alek Wek laughs that younger models call her \u201cBenjamin Button.\u201d It\u2019s an apt description for the fashion icon who\u2019s been in the business \u2014 and at the top of her game \u2014 for the past twenty-five years.<\/p>\n

Wek is undeniably ageless and her joyful exuberance spills over into painting, cooking and now designing, with a signature capsule collection for Weekend Max Mara, called A.W.orld by Alek Wek. The collection is a celebration of Wek herself \u2014 from luxurious knits in the colors of the South Sudan flag to a print that comes from her own painting of her palm print.<\/p>\n

As one of\u00a0Grazia’s<\/em>\u00a0September cover stars, the multi-hyphenate spoke to veteran fashion editor, Maggie Kim, for an exclusive and extremely personal interview. Wek got candid about her career, her family, and why humanity has become more important than ever in our post-pandemic world. Oh, she’s also still trying to get Mom’s approval (just like the rest of us).<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a sneak peek of their conversation…<\/p>\n

On what she learned from the lockdown<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wek worked on the A.W.orld designs during the lockdown in New York while reflecting on what it means to be human, the universal experience that connects us all. \u201cHumanity is so essential. It\u2019s good to be human. It\u2019s good to be present,\u201d she says. \u201cWe need to celebrate that and if you couldn\u2019t learn that from the pandemic, then you missed the point. You\u2019re just fighting a war you can\u2019t win.\u201d<\/p>\n

On trying to impress her mom<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cFor her, I\u2019m not really that successful. She\u2019s had nine children so her life is very different,\u201d says a bemused Wek. \u201cMy mother\u2019s the one who taught me to knit and she always reminds me that I can\u2019t speak Dinka [the language of Wek\u2019s ethnic group]. But I\u2019m in a good place. I\u2019m so humbled and touched by all of this. I\u2019m not the smartest cookie, but there\u2019s still excitement about my work.\u201d<\/p>\n

On being seen as more than just a face and body<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cFashion celebrated the way I looked and not how I felt, so I always felt like something was missing. Hollywood was the same way\u2026 But with this collection, people I never thought would celebrate me are celebrating me and how I feel.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the full interview with Alek Wek, grab Grazia\u2019s September Issue, out on stands September 23. Are you ready for our biggest issue ever? (We don\u2019t think you\u2019re ready!)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26633,"featured_media":35336,"template":"","format":"standard","categories":[17,16],"yoast_head":"\nSupermodel Alek Wek Wants To Embrace The World - Grazia USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Grazia's September cover star, Alek Wek, gets personal about art, family and finally being seen.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/alex-wek-cover-one-teaser\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Supermodel Alek Wek Wants To Embrace The World\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Grazia's September cover star, Alek Wek, gets personal about art, family and finally being seen.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/alex-wek-cover-one-teaser\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Grazia USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-09-17T12:59:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/09\/Alek-Wek.jpg?fit=2667%2C1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/alex-wek-cover-one-teaser\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/alex-wek-cover-one-teaser\/\",\"name\":\"Supermodel Alek Wek Wants To Embrace The World - 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