(Super)model Sarah Chuot commands attention

It was impossible to miss supermodel in the making, Sarah Chuot, at Cape Town Fashion Week 2010

“Cape Town designers are amazing,” says Sarah Chuot, the 5’10 Australian model who flew in from her hometown Perth to work the Cape Town catwalk in 2010. After this she is off to London and rumour has it that this 20-year old is set for supermodel status.

“I was born in Ethiopia and grew up between Sudan and Kenya. So I’m used to living between different countries”.

Chuot is all energy while we anticipate the Craig Native show, the last on the Cape Town Fashion Week Calendar. It’s her first time in Cape Town and she loves “the view, the people... it’s an easy life here – and it’s Africa!”

She says “Africa” with so much love and it’s suddenly clear that she understands the complexities of this terrible and beautiful continent. A history of war and refugee camps explains her wise and intense eyes.

“Africa feels like home.”

Sarah Chuot looks like a sexy African queen, with a shaved head and skin glowing blacker than black; a pout that would put Angelina Jolie to shame and long curly eyelashes. We talk about the previous show and she smiles a wide white smile. Stefania Morland’s designs are “very wearable; you can buy and wear it straight from the catwalk”.

She had fun in Cape Town, both in terms of the fashion and the setting; that much is clear. Her favourite designer label from the 2010 Cape Town Fashion Week showcase is Kluk CGDT. It’s stylish and you can dress it up or down which makes it “wearable for many occasions; it also feels elegant”.

As Craig Native sends models down the runway in street smart shirts and on skateboards, Sarah giggles. It looks like the models are having fun and she enjoys that. There is a head turning presence about her; it’s that kind of buzz that is taking the international fashion world by storm.

No doubt it’s her arresting beauty; but she also has a big African heart that shines through it all.

By Lize de Kock

Find out more about this year’s designer showcase in Cape Town by reading our 2010 Fashion Week overview.