Anyier Anei’s modeling career started with a small lie.

In just over a year, she went from studying pharmaceuticals in Nairobi, Kenya, to establishing herself as one of the fashion industry’s standout new faces, booking a campaign for Valentino and walking in runway shows for Miu Miu, Gucci, Saint Laurent, and more. But the point of origin: a small fib to her father.

“Once he reads this interview he will find out,” she laughs over Zoom. “I never told him.” In 2019, the South Sudanese fresh face was scouted at the age of 16. Her parents (namely, her father) were clear: no modeling for their teenage daughter. Though Anei’s mother had often likened her to the supermodel Alek Wek growing up, her conservative father did not see stability in the quick-paced, seemingly glamorous but flighty life of models. Instead, he wanted his daughter to pursue a future grounded in education.

Two years later, another agency came knocking. Now 18, Anei had long dreamed of becoming a pharmacist, and she had just secured a full scholarship to study at the United States International University in Kenya. Her parents again expressed a strong opinion: no modeling for their daughter. She would attend school as planned. Ever the well-behaved child, Anei dutifully declined fashion industry opportunities as they continued to come. But in early 2022, on what she says was otherwise a “random” day, Anei suddenly decided to gamble on herself and start writing her own story. She filled out the paperwork Dyves Management had left with her months prior and sent it in.

“My agent asked, ‘What pushed you?’” she recounts. “And I just said, ‘I’m ready.’” Anei told her father that she’d been accepted to a study abroad program in Paris through school (she would later tell him she was scouted on the street while in that program), then boarded her first flight to Europe to begin her modeling career. At her first casting, Donatella Versace spotted her and selected her as a Milan Fashion Week exclusive—“She handpicked me,” says Anei. And the rest, as they say, is history.

When we speak, it’s been 18 months since that first show. Though Anei had done a few small gigs in Kenya, working with local photographers was nothing like traveling to 10 different countries, shooting magazine covers, and walk- ing the runway for brands like Givenchy, Etro, and Naomi Campbell’s Fashion for Relief Benefit. All of this for a young studious girl, who had long cultivated a genuine interest in fashion.

“When [my father] sees this interview I want him to know that everything I do is so I can make something out of myself,” she says. “I see a great future for myself. I’m doing this not only for myself but for young girls who look up to me.” And maybe that’s worth overlooking the small fudging of details.

This feature appears inside the pages of V144: now available for purchase!

Photography Petros Kouiouris

Fashion Altorrin 

Makeup Kevin Cheah (Kramer + Kramer)

Hair Chika Nishiyama (87 Artists)

Model Anyier Anei (The Society)

Manicure Stephanie Hernandez

Photo assistants Ricardo Lara, Leiber Alvarez

Stylist assistants Roderick Reyes, Sionán Murtagh

Makeup assistant Joshua Hilario

Hair assistant Aya Yamashita

Location Loupe Studios