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Features
Apr 17, 2026

South Sudanese Models Shatter Barriers and Champion Industry Reform Amid Visa Struggles

AI Summary
Young South Sudanese models Khloe Nyanda and Alek Mayen Garang confront patriarchal norms, weak infrastructure, and repeated visa denials while striving for international runway success, aiming to build a credible local agency and inspire systemic change in their home country.

Juba, South Sudan – Growing up, Khloe Nyanda was taught to stay small and avoid taking up space. Defying that lesson, the 21‑year‑old law student at the University of Juba pursued modeling after being inspired by South Sudanese supermodel Adut Akech, whose refugee‑to‑runway story she describes as a "crown".

Nyanda’s ambition mirrors that of a new generation of South Sudanese talent, with 95% of models from the country naming Akech as their spark. She began modeling in 2023, but her family remained skeptical, fearing the clash between academic responsibilities and a fashion career.

Her personal journey has been marked by familial estrangement after she rejected an arranged marriage and a modelling coach’s advances, leading to loss of support from her stepbrother and other relatives.

Beyond social pressures, Nyanda faces systemic obstacles. Since 2023 she has endured multiple visa rejections despite contracts with agencies in London, Paris, and Italy. An attempt to attend Milan Fashion Week was denied by the Italian embassy in Nairobi over bank‑statement issues, while two separate applications to the French embassy in Kampala were also turned down. The absence of South Sudanese embassies in France and Italy forces hopeful models to obtain travel documents from neighboring countries, inflating costs and delays.

Another emerging model, 20‑year‑old Alek Mayen Garang, balances her senior‑year studies with runway aspirations. Born in Greater Jonglei and raised in Renk, she spent part of her childhood in Kampala before returning to South Sudan amid the 2016 conflict. Garang draws inspiration from Anok Yai, the American‑South Sudanese model named Model of the Year at the 2025 British Fashion Awards.

Unlike Nyanda, Garang found an ally in her elder sister, who accompanied her to her first runway show and helped negotiate parental approval. Her early challenges were technical—learning to walk in heels, maintaining strict diet and skincare regimens—and the lingering fear of rejection at auditions.

Both women are part of a broader South Sudanese surge in global fashion. Nine of the world’s top 50 models on models.com hail from South Sudan, underscoring the country’s deep talent pool. Former models have transitioned to design and entrepreneurship, founding South Sudan Fashion Week and creating bespoke wedding gowns.

Industry veterans now coach new talent, urging them to prioritize education alongside modeling. Yet a new anxiety looms: the potential rise of AI‑generated Black models, which could further destabilize already precarious careers.

Within South Sudan, the Ministry of Culture, Museums and National Heritage has been criticized for its limited engagement with the modeling sector. Advocates argue that official endorsement could shift parental attitudes and legitimize modeling as a respectable profession.

Garang recently won the “creativity” award at the national Miss Junub beauty pageant, expanding her vision from personal success to mentoring emerging designers and models. Nyanda, meanwhile, envisions a future beyond the runway: she plans to invest her earnings in establishing a credible mother agency, as well as a school and hospital for orphans, aiming to reinvest in her homeland.

“South Sudan is not a place I am running from; it is the place I am running for,” Nyanda declares, embodying a resolve to reshape societal expectations and create pathways for the next generation of South Sudanese talent.