Anok Yai had roughly $600 (£452) left when she spent it on a Prada waist bag to look wealthy at her first show for the luxury house. After positioning the accessory in front of photographers, she spent the rest of the week eating $1.99 (£1.50) pizza.
The South Sudanese-American supermodel revealed the purchase in an interview published on Wednesday, 11 November 2026, recalling the financial pressure behind her early modelling career. She believed looking successful could change how she was treated, even when she had little money to her name.
Why Did Anok Yai Spend Her Last $600 on Prada?
Yai knew photographers would be waiting when models left the show. She bought a Prada fanny pack, the American term for a waist bag, and deliberately held it where cameras could see it. She said she spent the last roughly $600 she had on the bag.
'I knew if I looked rich, they would treat me like I'm rich,' she explained. The decision was about the photographs taken outside the event, not her runway styling. Yai said she deliberately pushed the bag towards the cameras as the models left.
Money was tight even as Yai's name began circulating in fashion. She recalled sharing a model apartment with four other women and surviving on inexpensive pizza despite the publicity surrounding her sudden rise. 'I was struggling. I was a new face,' she said, challenging the perception that social media fame had made her wealthy overnight.
From a Viral Photograph to Prada's Runway
Yai attracted attention in October 2017 after a photographer took her picture at Howard University's homecoming celebrations in Washington, DC. The image went viral, prompting modelling agencies to contact her. At the time, she was studying biochemistry at Plymouth State University and had considered becoming a doctor.
She subsequently appeared in Prada's spring 2018 advertising campaign before making her runway debut at the house's menswear show in Milan on 14 January 2018. On 22 February, Yai opened the label's autumn/winter 2018 womenswear presentation, becoming the first Black model to do so since Naomi Campbell in 1997.
The February runway opening was a major career milestone, but Yai was nervous about the responsibility. She later recalled learning she would lead the show only about an hour before it started. The model also said she did not initially know that her appearance had ended a two-decade gap in the brand's opening-model casting.
Anok Yai's Career After Her Prada Breakthrough
Since those early Prada bookings, Yai has appeared in major luxury campaigns, on international magazine covers and on the Victoria's Secret runway. In December 2025, she received the Model of the Year award at The Fashion Awards in London. Her 2018 Prada debut came less than a year after the photograph that changed her career.
Yai has also described the sacrifices her parents, South Sudanese refugees, made while raising six children in the United States. She recalled that her mother sometimes went without food so the children could eat. In her latest interview, she said memories of financial insecurity continue to influence her determination to work.
The model is now pursuing acting alongside fashion, with around 30 auditions completed and a target of 100. She has also said she wants to choose projects more carefully rather than constantly chase new bookings. Her recollection of the Prada purchase offers a look at how little money she had while building the career that later brought her international recognition.
