US EditionSouth Sudan Models Dominate Global Catwalks but Visas a ...
Seven South Sudanese models with sponsors were denied visas recently, forcing them to miss major fashion events or take low-paid jobs at home, agency founder said.
- In recent months, Doris Sukeji said 'Paris, Milan, London-- the fashion industry is dominated by South Sudanese boys and girls at the moment', with nine of the top 50 models on Models.com from South Sudan.
- Seven models were rejected for visas in recent months despite work sponsors, amid a hardened climate against immigrants, according to Doris Sukeji.
- Awar Odhiang's rise illustrates a clear pathway from refugee camps to Chanel, while local agencies offer free training up to three months and take a 10-percent cut on paid work.
- Successful models can earn tens of thousands in a season, a life-changing sum where 92 percent live under the poverty line, but visa denials like Bichar Hoah's recent European rejection block those earnings.
- Conservative norms and physical requirements—under 5 foot 11—make modelling difficult in South Sudan, where families view it as a cover for prostitution, says Sukeji, despite hope for change, 'One day, really, South Sudan will change'.
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South Sudan models dominate global catwalks but visas a problem
Heels click on cracked paving stones as fantastically long-limbed men and women practice moves they hope will whisk them away from South Sudan, one of the fashion world's favourite scouting locations.
South Sudanese models train to reach global runways
Heels strike cracked pavement in Juba as young men and women practise runway walks, hoping modelling careers will take them beyond South Sudan. Despite years of conflict and poverty, the country has become an unlikely source of talent for the global fashion industry. Many aspiring models hope to follow Awar Odhiang, who rose from an Ethiopian refugee camp to close a Chanel show at Paris Fashion Week last year. Nine of the world’s top 50 models l…
In a country marked by extreme poverty and persistent instability, a new generation of talents defies prognosis. Their graceful silhouettes, spotted by the biggest fashion houses, embody a dream of escape and international recognition. On the roof of a building in the South Sudanese capital, some twenty young people are exercising with the help of [...] Read more From Parisian podiums to the streets of Juba, the unlikely rise of South Sudanese m…
A ray of positivity: South Sudan models dominate global catwalks but visas a problem
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