16 of Anok Yai’s best fashion moments over the years

Key Takeaways

• Anok Yai’s rise in fashion includes historic runway debuts and unforgettable red carpet appearances
• She made history as the first Black model since Naomi Campbell to open a Prada show.
• Her looks blend high fashion with personal expression, earning her Model of the Year in 2025

If we could describe Anok Yai in one word, it would be “iconic.” Whether she’s walking the runway for designers like Roberto Cavalli and Thierry Mugler or leaving us in awe on the red carpet, the global supermodel has a personal style that’s entirely her own.

As many may already know, Yai was the second Black model to open a Prada show, following the legendary Naomi Campbell in 1997. Since then, we’ve seen her dominate the Met Gala, BoF 500, and the Fashion Awards, where she earned Model of the Year in 2025. That same year, Yai appeared on REVOLT’s Power List, in which we celebrated her for “shaping what beauty, confidence, and Black global glamour look like at the highest level.”

Words can only do so much to capture how stunning her looks really are, so we’ve rounded up Yai’s best fashion moments over the years. Scroll through below, in no particular order.

1. The 2025 Fashion Awards

Covered in lace, crushed velvet, and satin, she stepped onto the 2025 Fashion Awards carpet in a white-and-cream corseted gown by Dilara Findikoğlu. Words barely capture how stunning it was, especially with that ruffled train. We couldn’t think of a better choice to accept the Model of the Year award in.

2. The 2024 Vanity Fair Oscar Afterparty

To quote someone in the comments of her post, she is the “most beautiful woman in the world,” and seeing her at the 2024 Vanity Fair Oscar Afterparty only convinced us even more. She wore a purple Alaïa number with black heels. Also, short hair looks incredible on her.

3. The 2021 CFDA Fashion Awards

Aside from a few outliers, most of our fashion favorites showed up to the 2021 CFDA Fashion Awards in black or white — Yai included. She walked the carpet in a blazer mini dress with silver heels and a couple of diamond necklaces. If you ask us, it was the perfect contrast to her longtime stylist Carlos Nazario’s all-black look.

4. Valentino’s runway at 2020 Paris Fashion Week

We couldn’t get through our list without mentioning a few of her runway looks. She is a model, after all. In 2020, the South Sudanese star walked at Valentino’s dreamy Spring 2020 couture show. There were tons of colors and an array of fabrics, as you’d expect from a designer like Pierpaolo Piccioli.

5. The 2021 Met Gala

Yai made her Met Gala debut in a crystal Oscar de la Renta gown, which she paired with sheer opera gloves and a dramatic feathered shawl. To say she outshone most of the other guests on the red carpet wouldn’t be a stretch. And as much as we love the look above, she somehow topped herself at the Met Galas that followed.

6. The 2018 BoF 500 Gala

Technically, for one of her first red carpets, she attended The Business of Fashion’s BoF 500 Gala in a Mary Katrantzou look. The silver top was a daring choice, but it paired beautifully with the glittering pants she wore to the event.

7. Off-duty in New York City

Though she isn’t walking a runway or red carpet here, Yai’s off-duty model looks are still so worth paying attention to. While out and about in New York, she put her own spin on the exposed-thong trend with brown sweats and a white-and-brown fur coat.

8. The 2024 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show

Her first Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was definitely one to remember. She walked the runway in not one, but two looks. Here, the model wore a one-shoulder lace bra with the prettiest pink skirt down below.

“I remember going backstage and thinking it was everything I thought it would be when I was younger,” Yai said of the experience, which she described as “girlhood bottled up.” The model added, “I remember being enamored by the size of my wings and the design team who made my look letting me put the last crystal on my bra.”

9. Off-White’s Spring/Summer 2023 show at Paris Fashion Week

The REVOLT Power List honoree attended Off-White’s Paris Fashion Week show in shades of several browns, topped with a glossy leather coat. She later sat front row with fashion editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson and Noémie Lenoir.

10. The 2024 Met Gala

As noted earlier, Yai somehow raises the bar every time she walks up those Met stairs. For 2024’s biggest night in fashion, she wore a blue Swarovski jumpsuit covered in 98,000 gems — yes, you read that right — paired with statement earrings and a diamond necklace. It’s a little surprising that more celebrities don’t try ombré more often, considering how unreal it looked on her.

11. The 2019 AmfAR Gala Milano

Going back to 2019, the superstar model hit the AmfAR Gala Milano in a body-skimming dress covered in animal print. The ultra-deep V-neckline transformed the otherwise straightforward look into a real showstopper.

12. The 2023 Fashion Awards

Another gorgeous Fashion Awards look: A cover girl dressed in Ferragamo. She broke up the mostly brown ensemble with what looked like a black leather belt. Of course, she was also up for Model of the Year. “Congratulations to my fellow nominees. Only we know the work and sacrifice it takes to get here,” the Plymouth State University attendee wrote on Instagram.

13. The 2025 BoF 500 Gala

If you thought purple looked amazing on Yai, just wait until you see her in blue. For the 2025 BoF 500 Gala she wore a gorgeous blue number by George Trochopoulos. It was sleeveless, a little sheer, and a lot of visual payoff to take in.

14. The 2023 Met Gala

“This particular dress I had in my mind for a really long time based on [Karl Lagerfeld’s] Chanel Haute Couture shows,” designer Prabal Gurung told Vogue about Yai’s gold dress at the 2023 Met Gala. The gown included a sheer tulle mermaid skirt layered with oxidized gold and silver sequin paillettes, per the magazine. Technicalities aside, the trailblazing model has a way of making everything she wears look magical.

15. The U.S. premiere for ‘The Matrix Resurrections’

For the San Francisco premiere of The Matrix Resurrections, the IMG Models signee arrived in a red co-ord from Jawara Alleyne. The look had plenty going on: an asymmetrical shoulder, her leg peeking out the side slit, and her midriff on display. At least we know which option she’s choosing when Morpheus asks whether to take the red pill or the blue pill.

16. The 2025 Oscar Awards

While she’d been to plenty of afterparties in the past, Yai walked the Oscars red carpet for the first time in 2025. As photographed above, she showed up in a peach-toned gown and a black feathered stole. And yes, we were thrilled to see the pixie cut make its return.