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In her four years working as a model, Grace Bol has steadily risen through the ranks to become one of the industry’s leading beauties. Editorially, Bol has excelled with work for publications like i-D and Paris Vogue, but this season Bol experienced a runway breakthrough opening Hermès and walking for the likes of Proenza Schouler, Balenciaga, and Rick Owens. With a wealth of new opportunities emerging and her schedule busier than ever,You’ve been modeling since 2011, but last season was a breakthrough moment for you. Why do you feel it was different?

I started to enjoy fashion. When I first started, going to a casting was just going to a casting, I didn’t take it seriously. This season I was just like, “I am going to just give it my best—if it doesn’t work, then I am OK with it.” I didn’t take the rejection personally, and I started to go with my gut in terms of pushing for the things I wanted.

Was there a moment when you really felt the hard work paid off?

Things started to feel different from New York onwards. Proenza Schouler was a very big surprise for me because I’d never even cast for them before. I met Ashley [Brokaw] for the first time, as well. I didn’t know I was doing the show until two hours before the show, so that part was like a very happy surprise—and it didn’t end there. When I went to London, Ashley cast me in other shows, which was wonderful, as well.

This was a season of firsts for me: Doing Balenciaga—I had never done their casting before, either—and Hermès, not only doing the show, but I ended up opening. I feel new this season. It was like I was starting again. When I began the season, I thought it was just going to be like the previous fashion weeks I had, so to have it be completely different meant a lot to me.

What was it like returning home to Sudan after wrapping up fashion month?

When I planned out my fashion week, I knew that no matter how things went, at the end of it I was going home. So I went with my plan and headed to Sudan for a week afterward. It was interesting. I was going to see my grandmother, but I didn’t get a chance to because I was called for Vogue Paris. Overall, I was surprised that it wasn’t very different from what I remembered. In the last year, there had been war everywhere. I didn’t see that side of things, but I was able to meet up with some of my family members. There were a lot of changes there and, of course, a great many changes within my family, but I was happy to see that things weren’t as bad as I had expected them to be. There is still hope.

How has your family reacted to you being this big model?

The thing is, I don’t talk to them about what I do at all. They know I live in New York, but they don’t know what I do. My mom just found out last year what [I’ve been doing]. Even when I went to Sudan, I didn’t tell any of them, I just showed up at the airport. It’s like they’re just finding out now. My mom doesn’t even know what Hermès is, she’s not into fashion at all. That’s what I like about it, because I get to be home and I don’t have to answer so many questions about what I do.

What’s next for you?

I have a lot of thoughts about it, but I can’t decide yet. I’m interested in living outside the city, settling down and having a farm or a house on the beach. I don’t think that will happen soon, though—I’m a little hooked on fashion. I hope to one day become a designer. I’d like to still be involved in the fashion industry even if I am no longer a model.

As an aspiring designer, what interests you most on the runways?

I love when I see something on the runway that relates back to my culture. I think that more designers than ever are looking to African culture for inspiration. This past season especially, a lot of things from the jewelry to the textiles felt like they were drawing from traditions you see in Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia. It is fascinating the way designers can combine global influences into something entirely new, and at shows like Givenchy and Balenciaga I thought that was really cool. So much of what I enjoy is there already on the runway or in the stores, so for now I think I’m just going to shop!

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