Chuol has a long term plan. “I do want people to know that I am aware and involved in world politics. There is a mission that I wish to accomplish.”
You might think Aweng Chuol has seen it all. Born in a refugee camp in Kenya after her family fled civil war in Sudan, she later moved to Australia, where she was spotted by a model scout while working at a McDonald’s as a teenager. Not long after entering the world of modeling, she started juggling law school and studies in psychological science with working for some of the biggest names in fashion—Vetements and Fenty, to name just a few. Seven years on from her start in the industry, Chuol, now 25, has appeared on the covers of magazines including Elle and Vogue Brasil, cementing her position as one of the standout faces in fashion right now. After accomplishing so much in such a short time, it stands to reason that she might want to take a break and bask in her success. But Chuol? She’s more concerned with what she’s doing next, and she isn’t interested in slowing down anytime soon.
“I’m a Virgo north node,” she exclaims. “I’m a Libra with a Virgo north node, so when it comes to my career planning, I definitely have that down.” And indeed she does. In fact, she’s got a vision board in her home with all her goals, both immediate and long-term, pinned up for her to visualize and strategize. On the fashion front, there are still some big names Chuol would like to work with, campaigns she dreams of booking—and, honestly, is likely to be booking very soon.
Chuol’s biggest aspiration, though, is to do good in the world. Philanthropy, she says, is her main priority, and it’s something she makes sure to integrate in every aspect of her life. Whether she’s working in fashion or politics, she wants to use her platform to have a positive impact on the world, especially the parts where plights are too often ignored, as she experienced herself.
On more than one occasion during our chat, Chuol mentions having her eye on a future role as a global leader. In past interviews, she has indicated more than a fleeting interest in being president one day. “But when it comes to visioning,” she says, “you’ve got to be reasonable, of course.” She knows her 10- and 20-year plans—yes, she has both—are ambitious, but she also has a more immediate five-year plan and a five-month plan.
In her late thirties, she’ll devote more time to doing philanthropy and advocacy work for children and child safety worldwide, but for now she really wants to do what she can within the parameters of her fast-moving model lifestyle. Chuol has been studying the work of the organizations War Child and Children in Conflict, to see how things are done from the organizing side. Her father was a child soldier, so the issue is really close to home for her. She has also been inspired by one of her good friends, Dr. Anne-Sophie Bammens, who runs a nonprofit called Headstrong Counseling, which helps make therapy and counseling accessible to people in the U.K. who might otherwise not be able to afford it.
“When I was a child, I didn’t know that we could actually go to therapy. I had no clue untilI turned about 17 or 18. I was like, ‘Oh yeah, that is a possibility.’ And then when I finally started looking into it, I saw that it was so very expensive.”
While she’s maybe a bit too busy to run a nonprofit right now, she never loses sight of her values and wants to spend more time hosting and speaking on more panel discussions about mental health. She’s especially passionate about opening up the conversation around mental health stigma and inaccessibility, which she knows go hand in hand. “Especially within the queer Black community, I think that there’s a big lack of mental health access and resources for us,” Chuol says. A queer Black woman herself who has battled publicly with depression, she is no stranger to the issue. “When I was a child, I didn’t know that we could actually go to therapy. I had no clue untilI turned about 17 or 18. I was like, ‘Oh yeah, that is a possibility.’ And then when I finally started looking into it, I saw that it was so very expensive.”
The things Chuol cares about aren’t random. They’re rooted in her personal experience. But she’s not only interested in what she already knows. In fact, the thing that motivates her most is probably the pursuit of learning new things. Modeling might have put her on a detour, but she has not fully closed the door on her education. “I love going to seminars,” she says. “I think one should simply never stop learning.”
What classes is she taking right now? Acting classes. She’s been training consistently to hone her skills and just got signed with a new talent agency in Los Angeles for film and TV work. And she’s traveling to L.A. at least every other month.
She knows that Hollywood can end up being a black hole for people’s dreams but pessimism is not Chuol’s thing. If anything, she’s eager to prove people wrong. “Whoever does PR for Hollywood as a whole… needs to be fired,” she jokes. “I grew up in the Church and my grandfather was a pastor, and he would always say, ‘Hollywood is a devil’s playground.’ And as a child it just made me want to go even more! I think everywhere has its good and everywhere has its bad. For me, though, I know exactly what I want to do in Hollywood, so I’m not worried about getting lost in the sauce.”
In this way, Chuol embodies the role of contemporary supermodel. No longer is the model just a face or vehicle. It’s always been so much more, and yet we are only now entering a time when we’re allowed—or forced—to acknowledge that their individuality goes beyond the surface.
“The times are changing. We have TikTok. We have YouTube. We have models doing ‘get ready with me’ [videos], you know?”
In the Nineties, high-fashion models were intentionally intangible. Stars, sure, but more in the way that the sun is a star: You’re meant to want to look at them but not supposed to do so directly. “The times are changing. We have TikTok. We have YouTube. We have models doing ‘get ready with me’ [videos], you know? In the Nineties, they were not doing get-ready-with-me content. You were not seeing what models were doing day to day.” Chuol doesn’t think this transition is necessarily a bad thing.
People know what she’s up to, and while the misconstrued intimacy of parasocial relationships can sometimes be overbearing, at least it means she’s no longer just an image, she’s a voice too. She wants to be seen and she wants to be heard. “I’m a real person. I’m not this untouchable, unreachable image, you know? I do want to be tangible. I do want people to know that I am aware and involved in world politics. There is a mission that I wish to accomplish.”
Last year, Chuol had an awakening. “I come from a big family. I’m the first child of 12 children. I had this awakening where I sat back and really reflected. What would I give my siblings? What would I want to teach my siblings? Being the only one in high fashion, being the only one in entertainment, do I just want to do the glitz and the glamour and not really have them see that there are things you can do after the glitz and glamour too? And the things you can do even during the glitz and glamour!”
What she wants to teach them more than anything is to ignore the naysayers. To ignore the confines that are drawn around them, to realize that they are made up. After all, if she’d stuck to the labels that society had written for her, she might still be in Australia working at McDonald’s, never even imagining the life she leads today.
Chuol knows there will always be haters. People who feel uncomfortable with her refusal to accept preset limitations–probably because they’re insecure with their own fears.
The world will always try to convince us to do less, but as she regularly reminds her younger siblings: “You’re not going to win with the whole world. Who you need to win for is yourself.”
Photography @maxpapendieck Styled by @imaanok Hair @wardhair4real Make up @patmcgrathreal @gorgeouslygritty Nails @ritaremark Production @neighborsbrooklyn @felixcadieu @homeagency All clothing and jewelry by @Versace.
