{"id":9155,"date":"2014-01-07T05:00:35","date_gmt":"2014-01-07T09:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africafashionweek.com\/newyork\/?p=9155"},"modified":"2014-01-07T05:00:35","modified_gmt":"2014-01-07T09:00:35","slug":"africas-top-5-runway-divas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africafashionweek.com\/magazine\/africas-top-5-runway-divas\/","title":{"rendered":"Africa&#039;s Top 5 &#124; Runway Divas"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"afric-3075798767\" class=\"afric-before-content afric-entity-placement\"><amp-ad width=300 height=250\r\n    style=\"text-align:center;\" type=\"doubleclick\"\r\n    data-slot=\"\/21718337565\/AMP-Banner\">\r\n  <div placeholder><\/div>\r\n  <div fallback><\/div>\r\n<\/amp-ad>\r\n<\/div><p style=\"text-align: right;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/africafashionweek.com\/newyork\/media01\/2013\/11\/AfricasTopFive.jpg\" rel=\"mfp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-8679 alignleft lazyload\" alt=\"AfricasTopFive\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/africafashionweek.com\/newyork\/media01\/2013\/11\/AfricasTopFive.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" \/><\/a>We CONSTANTLY pay homage to those who have paved runways for us such as <b>Naomi Campbell<\/b>, <b>Kate Moss<\/b>, <b>Linda Evangelista<\/b>, <b>Beverly Johnson<\/b>, <b>Lesly Lawson (Twiggy)<\/b>, and <b>Tyra Banks<\/b>; but what about the top models on the continent of Africa!?\u00a0 These women not only made a name for themselves, but have inspired thousands, and successfully represented their homelands.\u00a0 Learn a little about these powerful models and the runways they stormed on below!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<b>1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/b><b>Oluchi Onweagba Orlandi<\/b><\/p><div id=\"afric-1584004540\" class=\"afric-inbody afric-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><!-- \/21718337565\/AFW300 -->\r\n<div id='div-gpt-ad-1609524218907-0' style='width: 300px; height: 250px;'>\r\n  <script>\r\n    googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1609524218907-0'); });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Oluchi<\/b> is THE Runway Diva of Africa; she can be described as the African <b>Tyra Banks<\/b>.\u00a0 Funny, because she recently started <b>Africa\u2019s Next Top Model<\/b> (lovely show!).\u00a0 <b>Oluchi Orlandi<\/b> is from Lagos, Nigeria; she signed with <b>Elite Model Management<\/b> at the age of 17.\u00a0 She has covered 20+ magazines, launched her own modeling agency, and loves to give back to her community.\u00a0 Mrs. Orlandi has walked for more than 5 <b>Victoria\u2019s Secret Fashion Shows<\/b>, <b>Luca Luca<\/b>, <b>Giles<\/b>, <b>Tommy Hilfiger<\/b>, <b>Christian Dior<\/b>, and much more.<\/p>\n<p><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9160\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9160\" style=\"width: 614px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/africafashionweek.com\/newyork\/media01\/2014\/01\/africanfashionoluchi.jpg\" rel=\"mfp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-9160  lazyload\" alt=\"Oluchi Orlandi\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/africafashionweek.com\/newyork\/media01\/2014\/01\/africanfashionoluchi-1024x1024.jpg\" width=\"614\" height=\"614\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9160\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oluchi Orlandi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>\u00a0<\/b><b>2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/b><b>Alek Wek<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Ms. <b>Alek Wek <\/b>is a STUNNING and radiant woman who makes you smile with her humble, yet strong personality.\u00a0 She\u2019s from South Sudan and has certainly set the pace for Sudanese models; now, there\u2019s an elaborate handful of them.\u00a0 <b>Alek Wek <\/b>became the first African model to cover <b>Elle Magazine.\u00a0 <\/b>As she began to surface, EVERYONE wanted her on their runway!\u00a0 She has walked for names such as <b>CHANEL<\/b>, <b>John Galliiano<\/b>, and <b>Donna Karan.\u00a0 <\/b>We love the <b>United Colors of Benetton <\/b>campaign that she did and how she is a missionary for <b>World Vision<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9162\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9162\" style=\"width: 614px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/africafashionweek.com\/newyork\/media01\/2014\/01\/africanfashionalekwek.jpg\" rel=\"mfp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-9162  lazyload\" alt=\"Alek Wek\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/africafashionweek.com\/newyork\/media01\/2014\/01\/africanfashionalekwek-1024x1024.jpg\" width=\"614\" height=\"614\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9162\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alek Wek<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<b>3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/b><b>Liya Kebede<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">The graceful <b>Liya Kebede<\/b> is a native of Ethiopia.\u00a0 We love her because like the other headliners, she wears several hats and wears them well.\u00a0 <b>Liya<\/b> is an actress, ambassador, US Glamour Woman of the Year, mother, and a philanthropist. She was \u201cThe New Look\u201d for several campaigns, ranked #1 on models.com, and listed as one of the top-earning supermodels in Forbes.\u00a0 In addition to gracing the covers of <b>Vogue US<\/b> 3 times, in 2002, <b>Vogue Paris<\/b> dedicated an issue to her.\u00a0 <b>Kebede<\/b> has done runway for <b>Gucci<\/b>, <b>Victoria\u2019s Secret<\/b>, <b>Tom Ford<\/b>, <b>Burberry<\/b>, <strong>Balenciaga<\/strong>,\u00a0and <b>Fendi<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9163\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9163\" style=\"width: 614px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/africafashionweek.com\/newyork\/media01\/2014\/01\/africanfashionliyakebede.jpg\" rel=\"mfp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-9163  lazyload\" alt=\"Liya Kebede\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/africafashionweek.com\/newyork\/media01\/2014\/01\/africanfashionliyakebede-1024x1024.jpg\" width=\"614\" height=\"614\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9163\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Liya Kebede<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/b><b>Ajak Deng<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Ajak<\/b> is an Australian-Sudanese goddess full of luminous beauty and vibrant personality.\u00a0 Like her role model <b>Alek Wek<\/b>, <b>Ajak<\/b> soon became a face for <b>The United Colors of Benetton<\/b>.\u00a0 She has walked for <b>Marc Jacobs<\/b>, <b>Lanvin<\/b>, <b>Louis Vuitton<\/b>, and her favorite, <b>Valentino<\/b>; all use her consistently.\u00a0 We love the SPICY shoot she did with <b>Bruno Mars<\/b>!<\/p>\n<p><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9164\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9164\" style=\"width: 614px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/africafashionweek.com\/newyork\/media01\/2014\/01\/africanfashionajakdeng.jpg\" rel=\"mfp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-9164  lazyload\" alt=\"Ajak Deng\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/africafashionweek.com\/newyork\/media01\/2014\/01\/africanfashionajakdeng-1024x1024.jpg\" width=\"614\" height=\"614\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9164\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ajak Deng<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b><\/b><b>5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/b><b>Fatima Siad<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">The precious <b>Fatima Siad<\/b> is the beautiful product of Somalian and Ethiopian parents.\u00a0 She is a famous face of the loved television series, <b>America\u2019s Next Top Model<\/b>. To name a few, <b>Fatima<\/b> has signed with agencies like <b>IMG Models<\/b>, <b>New York Model Management<\/b>, and <b>Ace Models<\/b>.\u00a0 <b>Siad<\/b> has walked in <b>Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week<\/b> and for names like <b>Gemma Kahng, Betsey Johnson, <\/b>and<b> Herm\u00e8s<\/b>.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9165\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9165\" style=\"width: 614px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/africafashionweek.com\/newyork\/media01\/2014\/01\/africanfashionfatimasiad.jpg\" rel=\"mfp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-9165  lazyload\" alt=\"Fatima Siad\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/africafashionweek.com\/newyork\/media01\/2014\/01\/africanfashionfatimasiad-1024x1024.jpg\" width=\"614\" height=\"614\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9165\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fatima Siad<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>by Omoefe Ajueyitsi<\/p>\n<p>Editor-in-Chief<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"afric-194565656\" class=\"afric-after-content afric-entity-placement\"><amp-ad width=300 height=250\r\n    style=\"text-align:center;\" type=\"doubleclick\"\r\n    data-slot=\"\/21718337565\/AMP-bottom\">\r\n  <div placeholder><\/div>\r\n  <div fallback><\/div>\r\n<\/amp-ad><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We CONSTANTLY pay homage to those who have paved runways for us such as Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Linda Evangelista, Beverly Johnson, Lesly Lawson (Twiggy), and Tyra Banks; but what about the top models on the continent of Africa!?\u00a0 These women not only made a name for themselves, but have inspired thousands, and successfully represented&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9156,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72,73,75],"tags":[2274,88,76,89,128,2275,2102,2276,2277,83,1907,1811,1430,1431,139,2278,197,2279,1591,2184,94,717,247,321,2280,2281,2282,2283,2284,2285,2286,2287,2288,299,2289,449,462,950,2290,2291,407,338,416,426,1034,2292,2293,25,2294,2295,2296,2297,354,2298,219,2299,355,2300,2301,2302,2303,2105,2304,2305,345,2306,2307,2308,1850,340,2309,2116,265,393,2119,2120,667,47,242,2310,234,199,2311,2312,2313,2314,2315,191,2316,2317,2318,2319,2320,2321,2322,878,2323,2324,2325,2326,2327,323,2328,1866,2329,2330,2331,2332,2333,2334,2335,2336,2337,466,957,2338,310,2339,2340,227],"class_list":["post-9155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-afw","category-made","category-news","tag-ace-models","tag-adiree","tag-adiree-pr","tag-africa","tag-africa-fashion","tag-africas-next-top-model","tag-africas-top-5","tag-africas-top-5-runway-divas","tag-africas-top-five-runway-divas","tag-african-fashion","tag-african-fashion-model","tag-african-fashion-models","tag-african-influences","tag-african-inspired-fashion","tag-african-luxury-fashion","tag-african-model-african-models","tag-african-models","tag-african-runway-models","tag-africas-top-five","tag-afw-africa-fashion-weekly","tag-afwny","tag-ajak","tag-ajak-deng","tag-alek-wek","tag-americas-next-top-model","tag-angelique-ajak-deng","tag-australia","tag-australian","tag-australian-model","tag-australian-sudanese-model","tag-betsey-johnson","tag-beverly-johnson","tag-bruno-mars","tag-burberry","tag-chanel","tag-christian-dior","tag-dior","tag-donna-karan","tag-elite","tag-elite-model-management","tag-elite-models","tag-elle","tag-elle-magazine","tag-ethiopia","tag-ethiopian","tag-ethiopian-model","tag-ethiopian-models","tag-fashion","tag-fashion-model","tag-fashion-models","tag-fatima","tag-fatima-siad","tag-fendi","tag-gemma-kahng","tag-ghana","tag-giles","tag-gucci","tag-hermes","tag-high-fashion-model","tag-high-fashion-models","tag-img-models","tag-international-public-relations","tag-john-galliiano","tag-kate-moss","tag-lanvin","tag-lesly-lawson","tag-linda-evangelista","tag-liya","tag-liya-kebede","tag-louis-vuitton","tag-luca-luca","tag-luxury-public-relations","tag-magazine","tag-marc-jacobs","tag-marketing-pr-media-relations","tag-marketing-public-relations","tag-mercedes-benz-fashion-week","tag-models","tag-naomi-campbell","tag-new-york-model-management","tag-nigeria","tag-nigerian","tag-nigerian-model","tag-nigerian-models","tag-oluchi","tag-oluchi-onweagba","tag-oluchi-orlandi","tag-pr","tag-runway-diva","tag-runway-divas","tag-runway-models","tag-somali","tag-somali-ethiopian","tag-somali-ethiopian-model","tag-somalian","tag-somalian-model","tag-somalian-models","tag-south-sudan","tag-south-sudanese","tag-south-sudanese-model","tag-south-sudanese-models","tag-sudan","tag-sudanese","tag-sudanese-model","tag-sudanese-models","tag-tom-ford","tag-tommy-hilfiger","tag-top-model","tag-top-models","tag-trya-banks","tag-twiggy","tag-tyra","tag-united-colors-of-benetton","tag-valentino","tag-victorias-secret","tag-victorias-secret-fashion-show","tag-vogue","tag-vogue-magazine","tag-vogue-paris","tag-vogue-us"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/africafashionweek.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/africafashionweek.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/africafashionweek.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africafashionweek.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africafashionweek.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/africafashionweek.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9155\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africafashionweek.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/africafashionweek.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africafashionweek.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africafashionweek.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}