So it’s Black History Month!
And every day this month, The Fashion Bomb Team is going to bring you Fun Black Fashion Facts.
Today, we’re kicking off with Sudanese model Alek Wek!
Elle took a huge risk placing Wek on the cover–it’s widely believed that covers featuring women of color don’t sell. This particular issue, on the other hand, went on to sell huge numbers and solicited many reader responses like, “When I saw your recent cover featuring a proud and radiant Alek Wek, I nearly cried.” Giles Bensimon, Elle’s creative director at the time said, “There are a lot of women who look like her in America, and they don’t find themselves in any magazine.” Too true!
Shout to Alek Wek and check out her line of handbags, WEK1933.
February 2, 2009 8:22 pm
Dang, I’m hurt. I mean I’m happy about the Alek Wek cover cause I think it’s gorgeous but, I mean 1997?! That was twelve years ago. It took Elle till 1997 to put a black woman on the cover? Man, and white people are claiming that we shouldn’t sing my President is Black. F*** that. They have clearing been running this ish for toooooooooo long.
February 2, 2012 10:01 pm
this post should be amended; alek is the first AFRICAN model to grace the cover. not the first black.
July 19, 2012 1:21 pm
[...] Wek, 35, fled the south of what was then Sudan in 1991 during the civil war. She flew out of her hometown of Wau on a Hercules plane, pretending to be the daughter of a neighbour. It was the first leg of an incredible journey that saw her become the first African model on the cover of Elle magazine in 1997. [...]
July 19, 2012 10:22 pm
[...] Wek, 35, fled the south of what was then Sudan in 1991 during the civil war. She flew out of her hometown of Wau on a Hercules plane, pretending to be the daughter of a neighbour. It was the first leg of an incredible journey that led to her becoming the first African model on the cover of Elle magazine in 1997. [...]
July 20, 2012 4:24 pm
[...] Wek, 35, fled the south of what was then Sudan in 1991 during the civil war. She flew out of her hometown of Wau on a Hercules plane, pretending to be the daughter of a neighbour. It was the first leg of an incredible journey that led to her becoming the first African model on the cover of Elle magazine in 1997. [...]
February 19, 2013 7:18 pm
Who is the photography? great shot