Written by Leah Asmelash, CNN
The prestigious annual fashion awards return on Monday night, and one of the most anticipated categories is the model of the year award.
Five major names in the industry – Adut Akech, Bella Hadid, Paloma Elsesser, Quannah Chasinghorse and Lila Moss – have been nominated for the award, which recognizes the most influential model whose impact extends beyond the catwalk, according to organizers. An annual fundraiser for the British Fashion Council Foundation, the awards also recognize independent designers and brands.
The winners will be announced during a ceremony at London’s Royal Albert Hall on December 5.
With no model category in 2021 or 2020, Akech picked up the award in 2019, when she faced Winnie Harlow and Kaia Gerber, among others, before the pandemic forced the event to make changes to its format.
This year’s field of nominees reflects a continued departure from the homogeneous ideal model of the past: Akech is a refugee from South Sudan, Elsesser is a plus-size model, and Chasinghorse is an indigenous model and activist.
“It’s going to take a while to see this change catch on,” Akech told CNN in 2019, referring to a shift toward more diverse representation in the industry. “But it makes me very proud to be a model right now that I can be a part of that change.”
Adut Akech walks the runway for Chanel as part of Paris Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2020/2021 on March 3, 2020 in Paris, France. Credit: Peter White/fake images
Akech has been a force in fashion for years. Born in South Sudan and raised in a refugee camp in Kenya, she is now one of the most in-demand models working, appearing regularly for brands like Valentino and Givenchy. In 2019, she dedicated the award to refugees around the world.
“I say this to them. Whatever they want to do, whether it’s modeling, acting or medicine, they should never doubt themselves or let the world convince them that it’s not possible,” she said when accepting the award. “Because if a little dark-skinned South Sudanese refugee coming from absolutely nothing can do it, so can you.”
Quannah Chasinghorse walks the runway at the MADE New York 2022 New Wave New York show at Brooklyn Bridge Park on June 24, 2022 in New York City. Credit: JP Yim/Getty Images
Chasinghorse, writing for CNN Style earlier this year, also hailed the big change in the industry. Chasinghorse, a member of the Hän Gwich’in and Sičangu/Oglala Lakota tribes in the US, said she grew up unrepresented in pop culture. She now, she feels lucky to represent her people on magazine covers and on the catwalk.
Still, there is always room for improvement.
“Many models on the rise now have something special and unique that they bring to the table: they are not just meant to wear clothes,” Chasinghorse wrote. “Seeing these changes in the industry is encouraging as it evolves into a better version of itself. But we have to continue to hold each other accountable. I’m looking forward to watching it grow.”
Paloma Elsesser walks the runway during the Lanvin Womenswear Spring/Summer 2022 show during Paris Fashion Week on October 3, 2021. Credit: Peter White/fake images
When Elsesser filmed her Vogue cover for the January 2021 issue, she described the experience as “surreal.”
She, a short, chubby, mixed-race woman who describes herself, in Vogue, famous for being white, tall and thin. In another era, it would not have been possible. Today, Elsesser has walked for major luxury brands such as Fendi, Lanvin and Chloé, and has been featured in ad campaigns for many others, including Victoria’s Secret.
She has also pushed the brands she has walked for to include a wider range of sizes. After working with designer Nensi Dojaka, the designer began offering larger sizes for the first time.
Lila Moss showed off her blood glucose monitor on the runway at the Fendi by Versace special event during Milan Fashion Week in September 2021. Credit: Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images Europe/Daniele Venturelli/Getty Image
Lila Moss, daughter of legendary model Kate Moss, has also pushed fashion forward in her own way. Just this year, Moss attended the Met Gala, one of the most distinguished events in the fashion industry, with her monitor and her insulin pump.
The devices, intended to regulate insulin levels for people living with type 1 diabetes, were visible under her sheer Burberry dress. And this isn’t the first time Moss has worn them: he, too, walked in a joint Fendi and Versace show in September 2021 with the pump on his upper left leg.
Although about 1.5 million Americans are living with Type I diabetes, it’s rare for the device to show up on the runaway. Still in a video for British Vogue earlier this year, Moss revealed that the bombshell “comes everywhere with me.”
Bella Hadid at the Vivienne Westwood Womenswear Spring-Summer 2023 show as part of Paris Fashion Week in October 2022. Credit: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images
Bella Hadid, who made her New York Fashion Week debut in September 2014, was at the center of one of the liveliest moments of Paris Fashion Week in October this year, when she closed the Spring show. -Summer 2023 of the French brand Coperni with a dress that literally sprayed on
Hadid started walking around wearing nothing but underwear. A team of scientists then sprayed a misty liquid on top, which nearly transformed into wearable material in less than 10 minutes.
Supermodel has dress spray painted during fashion show
It’s unclear if this is the future of fashion, but of course Hadid, an in-demand model who has walked for brands like Versace and Chanel, was at the center. Despite being the daughter and younger sister of the models, mother Yolanda and sister Gigi respectively, Hadid has carved out her own space.
She was nominated in 2016 for the award, but lost to her sister. This year, she was finally able to take first prize.
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