Jourdan Dunn

Model

Born August 3, 1990 in London, England, GB

Jourdan Dunn was discovered in Primark, by an agent from Storm Model Management. The following year, she made her runway debut walking for Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren and Salvatore Ferragamo. Dunn’s breakthrough year was in 2008, when the industry began to take notice of the British sensation; she began to book shows for Alexander McQueen, Hermés, Givenchy, Jean Paul Gaultier, Chanel and Christian Dior. Many designers have complimented the model on her positive view towards the lack of color in fashion including Miuccia Prada, whom chose Dunn to walk in the Prada show as the first black model to do so since 1997, when Naomi Campbell first walked for the label. During London Fashion Week in 2008, Dunn made a strong public statement regarding the fashion business and its non-diversity on the runways. In 2008, she was featured in Vogue Italia Editorial Black on Black, July 2008 and Vogue Editorial Is Fashion Racist?, July 2008 editorials, using Dunn as an inspiration. In 2007, David Sims photographed her for her Benetton campaign, a relationship that continued when she returned as one of the faces of the company the following year. She has since lent her face to Topshop, CK by Calvin Klein, H&M, GAP, Yves Saint Laurent, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, amongst others. Dunn plans to establish a modeling agency, promoting different cultures of African, Asian and Spanish girls, after noticing the lack of these ethnicities on the fashion runways.