From the capital to the catwalk: Canberra’s surprising supermodel legacy
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When Achok Akoi was a little girl, she used to dream of being a model. Not for the glitz and glamour – although that was an appeal – but rather because of what it could offer her: a platform to change the world.
Born in a refugee camp in Kenya, where she spent the first five years of her life, she would watch in awe as women she describes as “beautiful inside and out” raised money for charities supporting people just like her.
But modelling was never something she thought she could do.
So, if you’d said to that little girl that within five weeks of signing with IMG Models, she would debut on the runway with Gucci before moving to Milan for two months to work with them, travel to Shanghai and Paris to work with Hermès and star on the cover of Elle Australia, she wouldn’t have believed you.
“I always wanted to model but I was too scared. I was scared of my parents’ reaction, I thought that they wouldn’t understand culturally and that was a big factor for me,” Achok says.
“I was at the stage in my life where I was at a very low point, and I needed to do something for myself that I’ve always wanted to do. I went back and forth in my head, telling myself all those negative, ugly things we say that are not true about ourselves. Then a soft, kind voice in my head told me, “Just do it, you’re okay’.”
“Fear clouds your judgement and keeps you captive and that I was done living in fear. Fear of judgement, fear to disappoint and fear to be perceived by the world. And I was wrong. My parents and family were incredibly happy and proud of me.”
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Walking the runway for the likes of Lacoste, Nina Rici, Roberto Cavalli, Ferrari and Magda Butrym – as well as for Australian Fashion Week – along with starring in countless campaigns with major Australian fashion houses and featuring in the likes of Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Grazia, and RUSSH, Achok is just one of the several young rising stars from Canberra making a name for herself in front of the camera.
But not many people know that she stands on the shoulders of fashion giants.
A small city, a long legacy
A small city with very little fashion presence, Canberra has been home to big names in the world of fashion, producing some of Australia’s top models, such as Tziporah Malkah, Anneliese Seubert and Belinda Riding.
The history is fascinating.
Formerly known as Kate Fischer, Tziporah Malkah moved to Canberra in 1986, attending Canberra Girls Grammar School, before leaving school to pursue her modelling career. The face of Dolly magazine in the ‘80s and a former Vogue cover girl, one of her claims to fame was landing a role in Sirens alongside Elle Macpherson in 1994.
Born in Germany and raised in Cooma, Anneliese Seubert was named a finalist in the Dolly Cover Girl competition at the age of 15. She won the 1990 Ford Supermodel of the World contest at 17, working with the likes of Dior, Gucci, Versace, Yves Saint Laurent, Givenchy and Hermès in the ‘90s before moving back to Canberra in the 2000s.
As for Belinda Riding? She graced magazine covers, catwalks and billboards around the world for 25 years, working with top designers and fashion houses, including Karl Lagerfeld. She married Alan White – hairstylist to Claudia Schiffer, Nicole Kidman and Kim Kardashian – and now the couple lives in Canberra, where she currently works for Independent Property Group, marking a full circle moment.
The next generation steps up
Like Tziporah, Anneliese and Belinda, Ploy Rida also left Canberra to follow her modelling aspirations. And like them, her resume is jaw-dropping.
Growing up in Canberra, watching fashion shows online, Ploy’s interest in modelling began when she would research the models to learn about their lives.
Inspired and intrigued, she says that starting her career in Canberra was slow, but those who could, uplifted her – including HerCanberra founder Amanda Whitley.
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“I was very fortunate to meet people who believed in me early on. Amanda from HerCanberra gave me the opportunity to model for the magazine’s ninth issue, and that moment felt really special. My mum even came on set with me. I’m still very grateful for that experience,” says Ploy.
“In all honesty, there wasn’t much happening in the fashion scene at that time to continuously have shoots, so it was definitely a hobby and not so much a career.”
Moving away from Canberra wasn’t an easy choice. But it changed the trajectory of Ploy’s life, seeing her quickly rise in the industry.
Signed to Priscillas Models, she’s been featured in 032c (a Berlin based magazine), Vogue Australia, Grazia, RUSSH, Marie Claire, Bazaar, InStyle, SIDE-NOTE and has shot campaigns for Ella Baché Australia, H&M x Stella McCartney, and MECCA.
She’s also walked in Australian Fashion Week multiple times – all with a Bachelor of Software Engineering under her belt.
“It was the hardest choice of my life; growing up with the mindset of getting a degree and pursuing that career path was the only form of success that I knew at that time. I had never been exposed to the entertainment and fashion industry, so it felt more like a gamble,” explains Ploy.
“Coming towards the end of my degree, studying and shooting was almost 50/50. The more I modelled, the more I dreaded studying. I took my degree to Melbourne until I graduated. Once I graduated, I knew modelling was my calling.”
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Australia’s new (glamorous) guard
Achok and Ploy’s success isn’t startling. Not only are they beautiful, but they are coming up during a time when Australian models are surging in popularity.
Take Sydney-born Angelina Kendall.
Walking 17 shows for her breakout autumn/winter ’23 season, 27 for the spring/summer ’24 shows, fronting covers including Vogue Italia’s September issue and making her Victoria Secret Fashion Show debut in 2025, the 20-year-old has already been labelled a supermodel – just ask British Vogue.
Calling her the “girl of the moment” in 2024, and stating that “supermodel status beckons”, two years later, Angelina is one of the industry’s most in-demand models. But Achok says it’s not an easy industry to break into – let alone do it from Canberra.
“I got my seven-year-old nephew to take my photos on my verandah at my house,” she says with a laugh.
“I took some photos, I applied online, and connected with my cousin, who’s also a model. I also connected with her mother’s agent, and they booked me with IMG, who I’m with now.”
“You don’t really see any fashion big presence in Canberra; there are no big agencies, so it was hard at first…I would say I was blessed.”
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For Achok, moving to Sydney was one of the hardest decisions of her life. Growing up as one of eight, she had no experience in modelling and said that it was an adjustment to suddenly start on a new path without most of her family close by.
But while she had moments of doubt, she has no regrets.
“My mum wanted to be a model growing up, but she lived in war her whole life. She never got the opportunity – I didn’t know this until after I started modelling. Modelling bought my mum and l closer than l could’ve ever imagined,” Achok says.
“We limit ourselves by not thinking we’re capable, but why not you? Surround yourself with people that see your light and want to see you shine.”
The future of Canberra’s modelling dynasty
Noting that they don’t see many people from Canberra in the industry, Achok and Ploy have crossed paths. Assigned to different agencies and both carving out their own trail, there are two things they have in common.
One: both say that they only dreamed to get this far.
The second thing? Canberra will always be home.
“Sometimes I find myself in rooms with people I used to only see online growing up, and it becomes such a pinch me moment,” says Ploy.
“I realise it more being overseas, that Canberra is home. I miss every aspect of Canberra, being able to smile, and say ‘hi’ to people… I miss it a lot,” adds Achok.
Both rising stars in their own right, when you look at the writing on the wall (or in this case, the photos in the magazine spreads) Achok and Ploy are well on their way to joining fashion’s most exclusive clique.
But outside of their modelling careers, they’re both just young women trying to navigate a world that has a reputation for being competitive, cold and confusing.
Where will it take them? We’ll just have to wait and see.
Keeping her next projects close to her chest, all Ploy has to say on the future is “The greatest investment you can make in life is believing in yourself.”
For Achok, her goal is the same thing that set her on this path in the first place: to become a role model for other young people and open a nonprofit organisation in South Sudan.
“I’m at the very start of my career and I’ve achieved a lot. I’ve only scratched the surface and have more coming up. I always wanted to give back. I always wanted to go back home,” she says.
“If I could tell my younger self one thing it would be ‘You’re more than okay. You’re more than capable, you are a good person…There’s nothing wrong with you’.”
