Anok Yai doesn’t really like the picture that is on the verge of changing her life.
She concedes it’s a high-quality photo and politely thanks the people who tell her she’s beautiful, but she was surprised by the
photographer aiming his camera at her during Howard University’s homecoming celebration. To her, the resulting picture makes her look like a “deer in headlights.”
Tens of thousands of people disagree. In just more than a week, that photo has brought Yai Instagram fame and gained the attention of nearly a dozen modeling agencies, she said, including one that flew her up to New York for an interview on Tuesday.
She suddenly finds herself in new and exciting territory, as a dream that she chose not to pursue has ended up pursuing her instead.
Yai was born in Egypt, but her heritage is Sudanese and her family has lived in the United States since she was 2.
As a child, she and her sister were engrossed by “America’s Next Top Model,” the Tyra Banks-hosted show that pitted aspiring models against each other in a series of challenges. The Yai girls would envision themselves as contestants, racing to interviews and gigs in New York, walking runways in Paris.
People had always told Yai she was gorgeous enough to grace the cover of a magazine, but the models she’d seen growing up were all white or light skinned — and she was not.
Plus it was a crowded and complicated field. When people told her she looked “exotic,” she worried the modeling world would see her as an easily-discarded fad.
“My fear was being able to stand out because there’s so many girls modeling and the industry is always changing,” she told The Washington Post.
A school friend recently suggested a trip to Howard’s homecoming. The friend had transferred from there but thought Yai would enjoy an immersion in the Howard experience.
But if they went, the friend said, they’d have to dress the part.
“My friend was like ‘Anok, you have to dress nice. All these girls, they dress amazing.’ ” Yai recalled. “My friend was like ‘If I see you in a T-shirt and jeans, you’re not walking with me.’ ”
It was warmer than she expected that Friday evening, so Yai donned jean shorts and a sheer black top and wore her curly hair in a loose mane down to her shoulders.
She realized she’d made the right choice when she stepped into YardFest and got compliments from people she didn’t know.
“I didn’t even think that anyone would look at me,” she said. “I was looking at the girls and they had nice outfits put together.”
Some people asked to snap photos of her, including Steve Hall.
He’s a Howard graduate who works at the university. He’s also a professional photographer whose passion is documenting black fashion, beauty and culture at events like Howard’s homecoming. He posts the images — along with commentary and other things he finds interesting — on his website, the SUNK. He sees Howard’s homecoming as a version of Afropunk, an arts festival that celebrates black culture.
He brought his professional camera, rented a lens for the weekend and planned to spend hours photographing the cultural aspects of homecoming.
She concedes it’s a high-quality photo and politely thanks the people who tell her she’s beautiful, but she was surprised by the
photographer aiming his camera at her during Howard University’s homecoming celebration. To her, the resulting picture makes her look like a “deer in headlights.”
Tens of thousands of people disagree. In just more than a week, that photo has brought Yai Instagram fame and gained the attention of nearly a dozen modeling agencies, she said, including one that flew her up to New York for an interview on Tuesday.
She suddenly finds herself in new and exciting territory, as a dream that she chose not to pursue has ended up pursuing her instead.
Yai was born in Egypt, but her heritage is Sudanese and her family has lived in the United States since she was 2.
As a child, she and her sister were engrossed by “America’s Next Top Model,” the Tyra Banks-hosted show that pitted aspiring models against each other in a series of challenges. The Yai girls would envision themselves as contestants, racing to interviews and gigs in New York, walking runways in Paris.
People had always told Yai she was gorgeous enough to grace the cover of a magazine, but the models she’d seen growing up were all white or light skinned — and she was not.
Plus it was a crowded and complicated field. When people told her she looked “exotic,” she worried the modeling world would see her as an easily-discarded fad.
“My fear was being able to stand out because there’s so many girls modeling and the industry is always changing,” she told The Washington Post.
A school friend recently suggested a trip to Howard’s homecoming. The friend had transferred from there but thought Yai would enjoy an immersion in the Howard experience.
But if they went, the friend said, they’d have to dress the part.
“My friend was like ‘Anok, you have to dress nice. All these girls, they dress amazing.’ ” Yai recalled. “My friend was like ‘If I see you in a T-shirt and jeans, you’re not walking with me.’ ”
It was warmer than she expected that Friday evening, so Yai donned jean shorts and a sheer black top and wore her curly hair in a loose mane down to her shoulders.
She realized she’d made the right choice when she stepped into YardFest and got compliments from people she didn’t know.
“I didn’t even think that anyone would look at me,” she said. “I was looking at the girls and they had nice outfits put together.”
Some people asked to snap photos of her, including Steve Hall.
He’s a Howard graduate who works at the university. He’s also a professional photographer whose passion is documenting black fashion, beauty and culture at events like Howard’s homecoming. He posts the images — along with commentary and other things he finds interesting — on his website, the SUNK. He sees Howard’s homecoming as a version of Afropunk, an arts festival that celebrates black culture.
He brought his professional camera, rented a lens for the weekend and planned to spend hours photographing the cultural aspects of homecoming.
