By Alyssa Boddicker
International Supermodel. Designer. London Native. Sickle Cell Charity Founder. Mom. Whichever words you chose to describe Jourdan Dunn, none of them are part of a boring life. Discovered at the Hammersmith Primark in 2006 and signed to every British model’s dream agency Storm Management alongside Cara Delevingne and Kate Moss, Dunn made her catwalk debut in 2007 at Marc Jacobs. Since then she has continued to stun with her modeling skills, philanthropic passions, and quick wit.
Dunn’s breakout moment was when she walked the Prada runway in 2008, the first black model to do so in 13 years. That same year Jourdan walked 75 runway shows in one season and won the BFA award for Model of the Year, talk about an admirable year! Following in 2009, Dunn thought her career would come to a screeching stop when she had to announce to the fashion world that she was in fact, pregnant. Instead, some the most renowned designers in the industry embraced her pregnancy, such as Jean Paul Gaultier who cast her in his show at seven months pregnant, Dunn shared “He made a special look for me – a shield around my bump. Everyone had fake tattoos, and mine was ‘Jourdan plus one’.”
Having her son Riley gave Dunn an entirely new perspective, instead of modeling for the money and success, she modeled for a better life for her son. As Jourdan continued to model for the most prestigious brands such as Louis Vuitton, DKNY, Yves Saint Laurent, Rag & Bone, Topshop and more, she proceed to gain high profile campaigns such walking the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, been featured in editorials for American, British, Spanish, Japanese, Russian, and French Vogue, as well as covers for i-D magazine and Teen Vogue. Jourdan has gained some pretty famous friends along the way, such as Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and Cara Delevingne of which have matching “DD” friendship tattoos standing for “Delevingne and Dunn”.
Most recently, Dunn has become the new face for Maybelline cosmetics, as well as for Balmain x H&M along with Kendall Jenner. She now has the ability now to pick and choose which shows she wants to be part in, which has given her time for passion projects. Jourdan Dunn’s own charity, Cell for Gratitude, is a directly dedicated to fighting her son Riley’s disease, sickle-cell anemia. Along with starting her own charity to bring awareness to this disease, Dunn has also become an ambassador for the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America.
Jourdan Dunn’s newest endeavors branch out from runway shows and into all types of expanding the Dunn brand. Her cooking show on Jay-Z’s website Life + Time, “Well Done with Jourdan Dunn”, has had star-studded guests from models Karlie Kloss, Joan Smalls, and Chanel Iman to 2 Chainz and even Chef Roblé Ali from Bravo’s Chef Roblé & Co. Her children’s clothing line for M&S called “Lil’ Londunn” inspired and modeled by her son Riley is the talk of the town and due to be released April 14th in stores and online. Dunn’s story seems to have come full circle from her discovery shopping in London to her own brand being shoppable in London stores.
We love Jourdan Dunn because she is versatile not just in her modeling but in life. She moves seamlessly from caring mother to cat-walker, to designer, to food show host, to ambassador for the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, and we couldn’t be more excited to see where Jourdan is heading next!
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