Glamsquad Magazine December 2022

Facebook.”
New Hampshire also had its
challenges and while Anok and
her family were welcomed, “we
were faced with a lot of racism,”
she says. “As I grew up in school
I was bullied for my skin color. I
had to develop thick skin and I
had to learn the language, be
able to take care of my little
siblings, then go to school. In
order to fend for myself I had to
develop thick skin.”
Education is number one for
immigrant parents and this is how
Anok was raised. She was on the
road to becoming a medical
doctor when she was discovered
to model. “I wanted to be in
the medical field, to work in a
hospital and get an MD degree,
and I worked a lot on my merit.
Education is still on my plate
to do. But of course, now I can
expand more with what I have
now.”
Getting Discovered
Three years ago, she was
discovered and her life hasn’t
been the same since. “When
I first got introduced into the
fashion industry, I could have
easily been a flash in the pan -
and I’m sure that’s what many
were expecting but right away I
decided that I was going to do
everything I could to become a
powerhouse.
Being a model means running
a business, where essentially, I am
the business. My likeness is what
draws people in and my creative
and business decisions are the
forces that drive it. Wanting to
work at a top level with leading
industry creatives, the Italian
brand Prada gave her the
opportunity to do this, and it’s the
foundation that allowed Anok to
build her career upon.
In 2018 Anok opened Prada’s
autumn-winter women’s readyto-wear
show in Milan. It was a
monumental moment because
no Black woman had done
that for twenty years. Naomi
Campbell had been the
previous model to do so. “When
it happened and I opened the
show, I had no idea that I was
the first Black model since 1997,
since Naomi to open their show. I
found out the next day. Ever since
that show, I have seen other
designers follow.
I’ve seen a lot more Black
models backstage opening
and closing shows. It was a
huge stride compared to the
past. There are strides that we
still have to make, but this is a
positive one.” And then she’s
gone on from there to be on the
cover of American and British
Vogue. “When I was shooting
tests I basically told myself not to
get too excited because when
they shoot cover tests, it’s to see
whether or not you’ll be on the
cover- it’s never a guarantee.
When I was on set shooting it, I
was like ‘I can’t believe I might be
on the cover of Vogue.’ It didn’t
feel real until it came out and I
saw myself on the cover, and I
was in such shock. I was so proud
of how far I came and my team
and I celebrated that night.”
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