From the moment she made history as the second Black model to open a Prada runway show in Milan, supermodel Anok Yai has kept us gagging. From her fierce Fashion Week runway walks to her always stunning red carpet appearances, the Sudanese beauty is one to watch.
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This week, the fashion industry gave Yai her well-deserved flowers, as the British Fashion Council recognized her as the 2025 Model of The Year.
Yai accepted the honor during a Dec. 1 ceremony held at the Royal Albert Hall in London. As expected, she understood the assignment, shutting down the red carpet in a super sexy custom eggshell Dilara Findikoglu gown and a blunt bob.
You can check out her show-stopping look here. Don’t worry, we won’t blame you if you can’t stop staring.
During her emotional acceptance speech, Yai acknowledged that all of the hard work she’s put in since she was discovered at Howard University’s homecoming in 2017 has allowed her to build an impressive resume that has helped her proved the haters who thought her career would be short-lived wrong. She ended her tearful remarks with an inspiring message for other Black girls.
“To all my little Black girls who are watching right now, your color is not a curse. You are not a trend. You are not unfortunate. You are worthy. You are capable. You are more powerful than you can imagine,” she said as the audience erupted in applause.
Fans who watched Yai’s speech applauded her for using her platform to call out racism and be an advocate for other Black women.
“Yall don’t know how difficult it is to speak up about stuff like this, the amount of brands and agencies that will drop and cancel her and she still had the courage to speak up,” wrote someone on TikTok.
Yai’s inspiring words gave others who were already in awe of her beauty just one more reason to love her.
“I love when the right people get famous,” wrote another commenter on TikTok.
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