Who is Anok Yai - and why is she the most influential model of 2025?

Culture • Nov 29, 2025, 7:14 AM

8 min de lecture

The British Fashion Council (BFC) has named Anok Yai the 2025 Model of the Year. The award recognises her considerable global influence, impactful campaigns for major brands like Yves Saint Laurent, role in championing representation in the global fashion industry as well as redefining beauty standards worldwide.

The BFC switched things up this year, and announced the winner upfront almost a month before the ceremony, instead of the usual five nominations for the category.

The jury who made the decision included Dazed’s fashion features director Emma Davidson, the BFC’s new CEO Laura Weir, stylist Carlos Nazario, photographer Campbell Addy, former Dazed editorial director Kacion Mayers, casting director Emma Matell, 10 Magazine editor-in-chief Sophia Neophitou-Apostolou and movement director Pat Boguslawski.

The award will be presented to Yai at The Fashion Awards 2025 on 1 December at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

But who is Anok Yai and why has she emerged as such an important global fashion icon?

From refugee to Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein

Anok Yai was born to a refugee family in Cairo, Egypt, after they fled genocide in Sudan. The family later moved to start a new life in Manchester, United States.

Yai started her modelling career in 2018 by being only the second Black model to open a Prada show, and the first Sudanese model to do so.

Talking about this historic moment, she told Vogue: “It was an honour and I’m proud that I was the one chosen to open, but this is bigger than me. Me opening for one of the top fashion houses is a statement to the world- especially for Black women- that their beauty is something that deserves to be celebrated.”

In 2025 alone, she has opened shows for fashion behemoths like Coperni, Ferragamo and Hugo Boss, while closing shows for Fendi, Ralph Lauren, Messikia and Vetements. She also walked other ramps for Mugler, Yves Saint Laurent, Victoria’s Secret, Calvin Klein, Tom Ford, Bottega Veneta and Matthieu Blazy’s first Chanel show.

She has also done campaigns for Gap and Mugler’s Alien fragrance, while appearing on covers for Vogue France, Perfect and Allure.

Apart from high fashion, Yai has also been very active in advocating for more inclusive beauty standards in global fashion, as well as refugee issues and the importance of Black representation, racial injustice and colourism.

She has shared that her goal is to “make dark-skinned beauty an everyday thing”, while speaking out against jarring racial injustice experiences and microaggressions she’s seen.

Yai has also expressed a desire to continue inspiring and supporting young girls to choose STEM fields, arising from her own experiences studying biochemistry in university.

Who else is up for awards at The Fashion Awards 2025?

Although no nominations were announced for the Model of the Year category, other nominees for various categories have already been announced. This includes Designer of the Year, British Menswear Designer of the Year, British Womenswear Designer of Year and Vanguard.

Check out who’s up for these awards below:

Designer of the Year

Jonathan Anderson for JW Anderson and DIOR
Miuccia Prada for Miu Miu
Martine Rose for Martine Rose
Rick Owens for Rick Owens
Willy Chavarria for Willy Chavarria
Glenn Martens for Maison Margiela and Diesel

British Menswear Designer of the Year

Foday Dumbuya for LABRUM London
Kiko Kostadinov for KIKO KOSTADINOV
Grace Wales Bonner for Wales Bonner
Craig Green for Craig Green
Stefan Cooke and Jake Burt for STEFAN COOKE
Nicholas Daley for Nicholas Daley

British Womenswear Designer of the Year

Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena for Chopova Lowena
Sarah Burton for Givenchy
Simone Rocha for Simone Rocha
Charlotte Knowles and Alexandre Arsenault for KNWLS
Erdem Moralıoğlu for ERDEM