{"id":36030,"date":"2021-09-25T14:35:47","date_gmt":"2021-09-25T14:35:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=36030"},"modified":"2021-09-25T17:40:07","modified_gmt":"2021-09-25T17:40:07","slug":"model-citizen-alek-wek","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/model-citizen-alek-wek\/","title":{"rendered":"Model Citizen: Alek Wek"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Alek
The Row shirt, $2,250, jacket, $3,590, pants, $2,450, therow.com; CELINE by Hedi Slimane belt, $380, celine.com; Tiffany & Co. Knot earrings in yellow gold with diamonds, $2,800, Tiffany Knot Double Row ring in yellow gold with diamonds, $5,200, Tiffany Knot ring in yellow gold with diamonds, $1,700, tiffany.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

BY <\/span>MAGGIE KIM
\n<\/span><\/strong>PHOTOGRAPHY BY <\/span>COLUMBINE GOLDSMITH
\n<\/span><\/strong>STYLING BY <\/span>EMILY MAZUR\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Alek Wek is celebrating. In Los Angeles for Labor Day weekend for a \u201ctop secret project\u201d and to talk about her signature capsule collection with Weekend Max Mara\u2014A.W.orld by Alek Wek\u2014the South Sudan-born, New York-based supermodel brims with the unexpected joy of having a luxurious few days all to herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore this trip, I said I\u2019m going to take care of myself, go to LA for the weekend,\u201d Wek trills over the phone to me from her West Hollywood hotel. Her British-meets-Brooklyn accent is posh and party in equal measure, lifting into laughter more often than not throughout our conversation. \u201cUsually, I\u2019m here for a day for a job and I\u2019m out. Tonight, I\u2019m wearing the belt I designed from the collection and I\u2019m meeting my friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

She takes a breath and jokes, \u201cMaybe I\u2019m not supposed to wear it out yet? I hope they don\u2019t sue me!\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course they won\u2019t. In fact, I later spy her jubilant sortie in her Instagram stories, said belt tied around a bright yellow floral dress, her smile wide and winsome. (Best #ad ever.)<\/p>\n

\"Alek
Weekend Max Mara cape, $945, us.weekendmaxmara. com; Proenza Schouler top, $990, skirt, $890, proenzaschouler.com; Tiffany & Co. Knot earrings in yellow gold with diamonds, $2,800, Elsa Peretti cuff in 18k gold, $13,500, tiffany.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wek\u2019s joie de vivre is palpable, an exuberance that\u2019s permeated her revolutionary career that spans a remarkable quarter of a century. She was the first Black bride for Chanel haute couture, and that irresistible smile has illuminated countless magazine covers when Black models, especially ones with skin as dark as hers, weren\u2019t considered sellable. Yet for all of Wek\u2019s unassailable beauty and vivacity\u2014bare necessities for success in her industry\u2014the icon has an unexpected confession: \u201cPeople don\u2019t understand that I\u2019m quite shy. Don\u2019t touch me. Don\u2019t stand next to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m an artist at heart before I was a supermodel,\u201d she notes.<\/p>\n

That artistry was first explored at the London College of Fashion, where Wek was studying fashion business and technology before she was scouted. Her first model booking was for Tina Turner\u2019s 1995 GoldenEye music video, her arresting features in nascent form, still a teenager with apple cheeks and colt-like legs that would soon grace every important designer runway for the next two decades: Ralph Lauren, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen. While Wek aptly chose modeling over art (\u201cI had a teacher who told me I could do whatever I want. To have people like this in your life!\u201d), painting became her hobby as her career took off. The art she created has now been used as prints for A.W.orld.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy new motto is: Art is a language for everything,\u201d Wek tells me. \u201cThis collection with Weekend Max Mara is so personal on so many levels. The prints are the actual lifeline from the palm of my hand. The earth colors were inspired from a movie I did in Morocco [The Four Feathers with Heath Ledger].\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Alek<\/p>\n

\"Alek
Marc Jacobs dress, $2,400, platforms, price upon request, bergdorfgoodman.com; Tiffany & Co. Knot earrings in yellow gold with diamonds, $2,800, tiffany.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Striped knits from the collection mirror the South Sudanese flag: red for the bloodshed of the civil war, black for the people, green for the land, yellow for the sun, blue for the Nile, and white for peace. \u201cI don\u2019t even have to explain,\u201d Wek says almost defiantly. \u201cThis is my story. And I\u2019m glad it\u2019s happening at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis time\u201d could mean post-lockdown or it could mean 2021\u2019s intersection of dissension, representation, and affirmation. Then again, Wek was fracturing the diversity frontlines long before it became an inexorable movement and moment.<\/p>\n

It seems absurd to talk about representation with a woman whose very existence\u2014and appearance on Elle<\/em> magazine\u2019s 1997 cover as its first African model\u2014instantly changed perceptions of beauty, self-love, and self-acceptance for everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Lupita Nyong\u2019o. Wek has lived the shift over the past 25 years: from being just a face and a body\u2014an outlier one, at that\u2014to being recognized for the entirety of who she is.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was at a job once and I overheard the editors and other models saying about me, \u2018Oh she\u2019s just rice and peas,\u2019\u201d she recounts with a mixture of humor and irritation. Microagressions spare no one, not even supermodels, but the nonchalant racism remains stunningly cruel. \u201cFashion celebrated the way I looked and not how I felt, so I always felt like something was missing. Hollywood was the same way. There are really mean people out there. But with this collection, people I never thought would celebrate me are celebrating me and how I feel. It\u2019s not just rice and peas!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Alek
CELINE by Hedi Slimane sweater, $1,050, celine.com; Max Mara skirt, $555, us.weekendmaxmara.com; Tiffany & Co. Knot earrings in yellow gold with diamonds, $2,800, Elsa Peretti cuff in 18k gold, $13,500, tiffany.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Alek
Louis Vuitton pullover, price upon request, louisvuitton.com; Proenza Schouler slippers, $750, proenzaschouler.com; Tiffany & Co. Elsa Peretti cuff in 18k gold, $13,500, tiffany.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

(Later, Wek and I discuss how much we love rice and peas and our mutual addiction to New York Times Cooking: \u201cIt\u2019s absolutely brilliant!\u201d)<\/p>\n

More than anything, the A.W.orld collection represents coming full circle\u2014a coming home, even\u2014for Wek. She worked on the designs over Zoom 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

For Wek\u2014who fled the Sudanese civil war for London when she was 14 years old after watching her beloved father die from an infected hip injury on their journey\u2014sharing experiences and holding space for one another in grief, tragedy, and happiness is what moves her now. She\u2019s certainly had her fair share of all three.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never shared this before, but when my brother committed suicide in 2008, it completely changed the way I thought about things,\u201d she reveals, describing for the first time the death of one of her eight siblings. \u201cNo one should have to feel isolated that way. We need to help and embrace each other. We can make each other stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wek arcs toward joy, even in the aftermath of unimaginable loss. \u201cI was daddy\u2019s little girl and because of that, I never have to look at another man because I was so loved by my father,\u201d she admits. \u201cHe is my angel.\u201d Somehow, this reveals more about Wek than anything else. The solidity and safety of a father\u2019s encompassing love…how it must have primed her for a heroine\u2019s journey.<\/p>\n

\"Alek
Weekend Weekend Max Mara top, $395, us.weekendmaxmara.com; The Row pants, $2,450, therow.com; CELINE by Hedi Slimane belt, $380, celine.com; Tiffany & Co. Knot earrings in yellow gold with diamonds, $2,800, tiffany.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Alek
JW Anderson dress, price upon request, jwanderson.com; LOEWE loafers, $950, loewe.com; Tiffany & Co. Knot earrings in yellow gold with diamonds, $2,800, tiffany.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wek\u2019s father instilled confidence and a strong work ethic in his daughter. \u201cHe told me, \u2018When you go in there, just do your job. Don\u2019t let them come after your eggs because then they\u2019ll come after your chickens,\u2019\u201d laughs Wek.<\/p>\n

She is adamant about personal accountability, especially in the midst of COVID-19: \u201cThis is the time where you have to do the work: Wash your hands, wear your mask. Take responsibility for your place in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a refugee who grew up without running water and who reached the rarified stratosphere of supermodels, Wek takes her place in the world seriously. She serves as a Good Will Ambassador to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, but says she prefers to play a role in the arts rather than politics, which lends another layer of meaning to her clothing collection. \u201cI went back to Sudan two times after the peace agreement and now we\u2019re independent,\u201d Wek explains. \u201cI want every young person to know it\u2019s all possible. My little nieces I used to babysit and who are now taller than me, this collection is for them. We can all share it and we can all wear it. The people deserve it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Alek
Marni sweater, $1,050, relish.com; skirt, $850, bergdorfgoodman.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Alek
Kwaidan Editions top, $855, ssense.com; Tiffany & Co. Tiffany Knot Double Row necklace in yellow gold with diamonds, $29,000, tiffany.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That generosity and compassion extend to a young homeless woman Wek crossed paths with on this trip that has brought her to LA. \u201cThe night before, I saw her sprawled out on the sidewalk. Los Angeles is not like New York. Seeing the homeless here is humbling,\u201d she tells me. \u201cToday I saw her walking by and I was so happy to see her in a different state that I had to speak to her. She was a beautiful girl in her early 20s from Haiti, just gorgeous. It\u2019s the morning and I\u2019m having my chai latte and taking my iron pills, the hotel security is telling me I\u2019m fabulous, but I know that I could be that person on the street. To me, that\u2019s where humanity comes in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wek\u2019s personal history means she has a profound understanding of the razored line that separates the favored from the forlorn. \u201cIn New York, it\u2019s crazy,\u201d she says. \u201cNobody appreciates how fortunate we are. It\u2019s just about competition and I can\u2019t take it. I just want to nest and cook!\u201d<\/p>\n

Nesting has to wait as New York Fashion Week looms and A.W.orld by Alek Wek gets dropped into the public consciousness. The supermodel-turned-designer has been showing her latest clothing sketches to Sharon Stone while still trying to impress her mother. \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

This weekend, though, is all about relishing her time in Los Angeles, and she\u2019s grateful when I tell her she deserves to let loose and enjoy herself. \u201cThank you,\u201d she says with sincere grace. \u201cI want to embrace people, embrace humanity, embrace art. I want to embrace you! This is cloud nine for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Alek
Peter Do sweater, $1,300, pants and belt, $1,100, luisaviaroma.com; scarf, price upon request, nolmau.com; LOEWE loafers, $950, loewe.com; Tiffany & Co. Knot earrings in yellow gold with diamonds, $2,800, tiffany.com. Hair by Ro Morgan. Makeup by Olivia Barad. Manicure by Rita Remark.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"author":30717,"featured_media":36278,"template":"","format":"standard","categories":[38,16],"yoast_head":"\nModel Citizen: Alek Wek - GRAZIA USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Alek Wek is celebrating. 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