simplylovely
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^ Amazing!
Announcing... The 3rd annual theFashionSpot Awards for 2025. Vote NOW via the links below:
Designer of the YearThank you for participating!
VOTING WILL CLOSE 29/12/2025 EOD!
net-a-porterIMARI KARANJA
Despite being just 17 years old, American-Kenyan model Imari Karanja has already celebrated more career highlights than most, from walking in couture shows for Givenchy, Tom Ford and Giambattista Valli to starring in campaigns for Prada and Valentino
I’VE NEVER BEEN SCARED OF THE CAMERA. By the time I was 14 years old I was already 5’11”, so people had been telling me I should try modeling. All my friends were getting their first jobs in grocery stores so I thought, ‘Why not give it a shot?’ The more time I’ve spent working in the industry, the more I’ve learned. Sometimes less is more – slight movements can really change a story.
GROWING UP, I WANTED TO BE AN ASTROPHYSICIST. Fashion was never a priority for me; I didn’t know this world existed until I became a part of it. It can be quite surreal and sometimes I don’t register the magnitude of an event until it’s been and gone, like walking alongside model Alek Wek in my first show, or being photographed for my first ever campaign by Steven Meisel.
MY GOAL IS TO DISCOVER ALL MY TALENTS AND EXPLORE EVERY ONE. You only have one life so if there’s something you can do, why wouldn’t you? The kind of people I look up to are Stephen Hawking, Martin Luther King and Mother Teresa. The best goals to have are the unachievable kind, like helping people in need, because then you’ll always have something to strive towards. What people remember you for is not what you did for yourself, it’s what you do for everyone around you.
I REALIZE HOW INSANELY LUCKY I AM. Being flown to Paris for my first season… I felt like Cinderella! I have friends who have never even left Georgia. Retaining a sense of normality is important – my family and friends keep me grounded. I know myself; I’m not defined by my job.