Elegancy101 Special: Top 6 Upcoming Black Models Who Will Rule 2014

While fair-skinned models flood the runways, these dark-skinned beauties prove that true beauty and talent transcends. Models of color, whatever their ethnic background or lightness/darkness, were present during quite a few Fashion Weeks this year. They continued their blistering run of form during these special weeks by taking the stage by storm in small numbers. It’s worth paying closer attention to the girls that get mentioned repeatedly. Take a look after the jump to see which black models we predict will be the biggest runway stars in 2014!

During past fashion weeks, it was always sad to observe that across almost 4500 models hired during NYFW 17% were models of color and only 6% of them were black models. But ever since Naomi Campbell, Iman and veteran modeling agent Bethann Hardison started the campaign Balance Diversity, all the top designers presenting in New York used at least one black model, and some who previously had no black models used as many as seven this season. That is a cause of a celebration!

Below you can see the list of the Top 6 Black Models who got the best exposure during all fashion weeks. Let's see which black model will own a household name like the latest TOP black fashion models Jourdan Dunn, Joan Smalls, Sessilee Lopez and Chanel Iman.

1. Grace Bol 
19 year old Sudanese-American beauty Grace Bol moved to New York to pursue modeling after being labeled "too high fashion" by her Kansas City peers. Now 24, she is currently represented by WM Model Management, Major Model Management in New York, FM Models in London and Why Not Models in Milan. She has walked for Givenchy, Jeremy Scott, Rick Owens, Maison Martin Marigela, and Vivienne Westwood. She also did campaign work for Givenchy and she appeared in an editorial for Vogue Italia. She could be the 2nd Alek Wek!

2. Melodie Monrose 
Melodie Monrose is a fashion model from Martinique and she began her modeling career in 2010 at the age of 18, when she was discovered by Your Angels Models. After that she began working with Wilhelmina in New York and Silent models in Paris and walked the runway for top designers including Michael Kors, Bottega Veneta, Lanvin, Miu Miu, and Yves Saint Laurent. She even modeled for the D&G fall ad campaign at such a young age in 2011. After her first runway season she was named a top 10 new face by Style.com, Models.com, and COACD.

3. Sharam Diniz 
She was the winner of Ford Supermodel Portugal 2009 and she won a contract with L'Agence Models Portugal. Now she even broke a record being the 1st Angolan & 1st Portuguese model to rock the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2012. She also did campaignes for BCBG Max Azria, Hervé Léger and editorials for GQ magazine and Vogue!

4. Marihenny Rivera Pasible 
Dominican fashion model Marihenny River has worked for a bunch of big names in the fashion industry including J.Crew, Kenzo, Loewe, Louis Vuitton, Marni, Miu Miu, Nicole Miller, Ohne Titel, Prada, Rebecca Taylor, Teen Vogue Declare Your Denim, Topshop Unique and Emilio Pucci. Sidenote; she was the only black model to walk for Marni’s Spring 2012 collection and she was personally chosen by Katie Grand to model for Topshop Unique. How cool is that for a 21-year-old model!

5. Leomie Anderson 
This 17 year-old London girl already opened a Loewe show, and appeared in Italian Vogue and Dazed & Confused. Leomie caught everyone’s attention, not because of her beauty but her distinct charm and sense of humour. She was discovered on the streets of London and she has culminated in an incredible international show season for SS14, appearing on over 30 catwalks including Tom Ford, Giorgio Armani and Chloe, she also did a campaign for Topshop. She is much more than just a pretty face, she’s already been flexing her writing and vlogging skills on top of a busy modelling schedule. She is also working on a nail product collaboration with a company called DIY Nails that she will be selling through my blog.

6. Nykhor Paul 
Our favorite model of all is definitely the Sudanese model Nykhor Paul! The gorgeous African beauty is based in New York. She's a regular face during NewYork Fashion Week and Paris runways. She worked for designers such as Betsy Johnson, Farah Angsana, Tory Burch, Catherine Malandrino and B. Michael. She’s been featured in Elle, Glamour, Seventeen or Essence magazine. Mara Hoffman hired Nykhor Paul again in 2012 for the well-known Resort Swim 2012 campaign.

Which model is your favorite?