“I’m just a girl from Manchester and I opened Prada”: Anok Yai talks identity and belonging with Edward Enninful
Following her cover shoot for 72 magazine’s Fall issue, supermodel of the moment Anok Yai joins EE72’s Edward Enninful to talk the viral image that landed her the status of supermodel and the chaos and pride of being one of the first Black models to open a Prada show.
Born in 1997, Anok Yai is part of a new generation of models coming of age in a digital-first landscape. For 72’s Fall 2026 cover story, the casting revisited the fashion of the 90s through a generation born in the decade, with Anok starring alongside Adwoa Aboah, Emily Ratajkowski, Gigi Hadid, He Cong, Imaan Hammam, Julia Nobis, Mica Argañaraz and Paloma Elsesser. “I wanted to do something in fashion, and I knew I could model, but I couldn’t afford it and I was waiting for the right time,” says the South Sudanese-American model of her early aspirations from EE72’s shoot.
A photo posted online by photographer Steven Hall, of Yai and friends visiting a neighbouring university, sent the model-in-waiting viral, as she gained almost 20,000 likes almost overnight. One year on, she was opening the Prada show – the first Black model to do so in twenty years – and booking jobs with major luxury houses across the globe. “I had left home to do my first editorial, I told my mum I would be home in three days, I didn’t go home for two months.”
Since then, she has walked for Versace, Max Mara, Fendi, Burberry and more, in addition to gracing the cover of global publications, leading her to be named Model of The Year at the 2025 Fashion Awards.
On set of the 72 magazine’s cover shoot, Anok sat down with EE72’s Chief Creative Officer and Co-founder Edward Enninful to talk through the pivotal moments in her career so far, and her thoughts on the industry’s current diversity.
Watch the full conversation on EE72’s YouTube channel now.
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