Face of Africa - Newd Magazine -- Art | Spirituality

Face of Africa

July 15, 2006 • By Tiffani Knowles

When Alek Wek came on the scene in the '90s, she redefined ideas of beauty for a new generation of fashion models. Who knew a Sudanese refugee discovered at a London street fair could end up being the face of Fendi, Calvin Klein, Valentino and Michael Kors?

Her typically non-celebrated features such as ebony skin, a broad nose and a nearly bald head were deemed remarkably striking by fashion gurus in the West. Case in point, not many were surprised when on the last cycle of America's Next Top Model, Tyra insisted that Nigerian contender Nnena be given a makeover to resemble Wek.

But, how much is this new obsession with the Wek look linked to the practice of westerners "exoticizing" minority groups in a post-colonial era? And, if novelty is ephemeral, how long will it take for the fashion industry to get its fill of the now-typical "African" look?

I'll tell you what. You can count on South African network, M-Net, to see to it that, "The Face of Africa," its version of UPN's reality series cranks out as many of the Wek clones as possible. This widely popular program aired in over 40 countries across the continent has awarded the stereotypical African beauty a 3-year modeling contract and USD$125,000 year after year.

Many have said that the Somalian and Ethiopian contestants who possess more of the typical Western features have been slighted. While the 2005 winner hailed from Botswana, native of the Southern African country, Rachel Seleke, claims that the show is perpetuating a look that is representative of how the "other" sees Africans and not how they see themselves. "I think they are definitely searching for a certain kind of African beauty," she maintained. "And, we don't all look like that."