Top 119 Quotes & Sayings by Alek Wek - Page 2

I meet and talk to women from every corner of this planet, and I can find beauty in each and every one of them.

I had jobs from the age of 14, when I arrived in London as a refugee. Aged 17, I'd get up at 4 A.M. to work as a cleaner before school. It wasn't pleasant.

For me, it always goes back to what my mother taught me and my sisters. That all women are beautiful, and we should embrace each other.

Bones inside clothes. That was war to me.

Beauty does not mean one thing but not something else.

I use Johnson & Johnson! I use their baby oil gel.

When my friends talk about childhood, I've never heard of any cartoons or TV they remember. The only thing we share is Michael Jackson. That's how far his music travelled - to a remote village on the other side of the world.

For me, you have to have some kind of modesty.

I feel, in 2015, when we see human beings and children dying to cross the ocean, trying to find safety, something more must be done to help them because refugees are just like me and you.

The fact that designers like Lagerfeld, Gaultier, Galliano and Dior could believe in Alek made me believe in myself, too.

I never thought I would see a free South Sudan.

When the militias came to Wau, they would blast out 'Thriller' as they moved down the dirt streets.

I have eight brothers and sisters, so I'd like to have a few children.

There are mothers who sew for six months to make a fashion collection - someone's grandmother, someone's sister. We come in and get paid to walk for 10 minutes at the end. Whenever I think about that, I realise it's not about me. I was just the one chosen to represent those women and sell the clothes.

We need to do everything we can to protect the health and welfare of children around the world, but fortunately, it's getting easier to provide things like medication and care.

There are people who can look out for other human beings; there are people who can speak up when something is not right and say, 'This is wrong, and something should be done.'

My father made sure of discipline, but my mum, she was serious business.

Having arrived in London to seek refuge during the civil war in Sudan, where I was born, the thing I'm most proud of is having totally evolved. I came here not knowing how to speak English, but I went to school and learned; I adapted to this new culture.

I used to have nightmares about the civil war when I got to England at ages 14 to 15. It took me some years to get over that.

Going back to South Sudan after the independence took place was deeply emotional for me because I had gone through the civil war with my family just before going to seek refuge in London.

When I was 10 years old, I fled my homeland amid the bomb blasts of civil war in Sudan.

I am so impressed by UNHCR staff who live and work side by side with the refugees. It's really remarkable.

There's never too much you can do.

I had serious psoriasis as a child - it's strange that I make my living off my looks after years of looking like a monster.

Leaving southern Sudan as a child was terrifying. It was 1985, and my family and I were trying to escape to Khartoum, the capital in the North, to safety.

My family is the most important thing to me.

I would love to continue to model but also have a family.

It was the most exciting thing to leave secondary school and go to college, to have that freedom to study whatever I wanted.

Beauty should not be culturally relevant; it should be universal.

I could never understand why other kids wanted to truant - my education here gave me everything. It's the place where I really got to flourish.

From nine years old, I lived with fear. I saw our neighbours disappearing. I was scared that I would come home from school and my parents would not be there.

We survived on natural resources, so we should take care of the earth. When I leave home, I do things like switching off the heat and lights.

If my mother hadn't encouraged me, I would be nervous and feeling like I'm doing something wrong.

When I first started working with World Vision, I would sit down and talk with them about issues that concern any part of the world. MSF told me about what was going on in North Korea. I also support AIDS and breast cancer charities.

I know how it feels to go hungry.

Education is the key to the future.

South Sudanese people are rich like the soil; they just need a little water, and they will grow.

My mother has always instilled in us that we should carry ourselves with dignity despite the horror that came with the civil war. She also taught us that where you come from is very important because that's what makes you who you are. So for me, whatever I've gone through had profoundly shaped me; it has given me strength and unwavering faith.

In my country, families are raised as though they are one. Although I am from the Dinka tribe, my parents didn't raise us as the Dinka tribe. They raised us as the Wek family, in the way they believed their children should grow up. So when you leave, the first thing you think is the ones you left behind. It's natural to help them in any way you can. I found a way to support myself rather than asking my Mum to give me money. I would work before school and send money back to pay for their rent and food.

Fashion shows are glamorous for 20 minutes.

I wore hot pants and cowboy boots and I thought, 'What have I gotten myself into?'

Pressure only makes you sick. You won't get anything positive out of it.

My boyfriend isn't a rock star. His values are rock solid. We met at a dinner and he made me laugh.

I'm trying to grow older with wisdom.

You don't have to go with the crowd.

Beauty is deeper than just what you look at in a picture. You could fancy what you like, but as a woman my mother always raised us to believe in ourselves. I'm very grateful for the fact that my mother brought me up that way.

I believe that true beauty comes from inside you and that always shows through. I have no problem with whatever the next look is, whether it's big blonde hair and blue eyes or green hair and dark eyes. That's fine so long as there isn't just one ideal image.

For me, there has never been one definition of beauty. I think we all have something to offer and when beauty shines from within, there can be no denying it

Not everyone is selfish in fashion. There are people who go to bed feeling good about themselves and then spread the love.

When it’s all said and done I would like to look back and think that I help to make modelling a possibility for a greater number of people. I don’t do things that I will regret in the future. I tend to err on the side of caution. Not to mention the fact that the present world I reside in would not have been possible without my past. I am most proud of being able to represent my family and community with honour and dignity.

Maybe I do have a few more dresses, but I'm just like everyone else.

If we don't take care of each other, who will? ... I don't want to ever say, 'I should've done something.'

I have no problem with whatever the next big look is. Just don't try and tell me that only one look is beautiful.

I think I enjoy London the best as it's where I started my career. But Paris is beautiful too.

You can't buy enlightenment, but you can hire a mirror so you can watch it happen.

I learnt just how little it takes to survive, which is why I don’t waste things – food, money, friendships or opportunities.

There are models who don't eat. That's worrisome - you need the right amount of gas to get going.

To have this opportunity, in light of my familys struggles, made me want to create something lasting and relevant.

A lot of people especially want to know about going into business. But it's a two-way conversation.