'They have perfect dark skin': The African nation home to fashion's favourite models

Akur Goi, a South Sudanese model who has worked with designers like Givenchy and Armani, has a theory.

She believes South Sudanese models are in demand not just for their physical beauty, but for their "resilience" too.

Goi was born in Juba but as a child she moved to neighbouring Uganda, like Akol and hundreds of thousands of other South Sudanese.

Many fled in the years after 2011, when South Sudan became independent from Sudan.

There were high hopes for the world's newest nation, but just two years later a civil war erupted, during which 400,000 people were killed and 2.5 million fled their homes for places like Uganda.

Although the civil war ended after five years, further waves of violence, natural disasters and poverty mean people continue to leave.

Recently, fighting between government and opposition forces has escalated - sparking fears the country will return to civil war.

After leaving a war-weary South Sudan for Uganda, Goi's "biggest dream" was to become a model.

But, Deng says, the woman's relatives eventually came around and she has since modelled for a top lingerie brand.

"This girl is actually the breadwinner of the family. She's taking all her siblings to school and nobody talks about it as a bad thing any more," he says.

He is "proud" to see this model - and others from South Sudan - on the global stage and although the industry cycles through trends, Deng does not believe South Sudanese models will go out of fashion.

Goi agrees, saying there is an "increasing demand for diversity" in fashion.

Akol too believes South Sudan is here to stay, stating: "Alek Wek has been doing it before I was born and she is still doing it now.

"South Sudanese models are going to go a long way."