South Sudan has an outsized influence in global fashion—nine of the world’s top 50 models call it home—yet the young women trying to follow that path face obstacles that have nothing to do with talent. Khloe Nyanda and Alek Mayen Garang are navigating family resistance, predatory agents, visa rejections due to a lack of local embassies, and the looming anxiety of AI-generated models threatening to displace them. Inspired by icons like Adut Akech and Anok Yai, both women are pushing forward anyway—driven not just by personal ambition but by a desire to reshape what is possible for the next generation.
Al Jazeera
