Nana Darko, a 20-year-old model signed with IMG, is making waves on international runways while simultaneously completing her university degree. The London-born student recently secured a major Prada exclusive and has walked for prestigious brands including Dior and Loewe.
Balancing Loughborough University finals with a Prada Spring/Summer 2027 exclusive
Nana Darko is currently navigating a dual life that feels worlds apart. While most third-year students at Loughborough University are focusing on upcoming exams, Darko is managing the high-octane schedule of a breakout model. As reported in a recent profile, the 20-year-old is juggling her urban planning studies with a meteoric rise in the fashion industry , having officially signed with the agency IMG this past June.
Darko’s ascent has been marked by rapid, high-profile milestones... After being scouted at 16 while shopping at a Boots on Oxford Street, she has quickly moved from student life to walking for the likes of Dior and Loewe. The pinnacle of her recent success was securing a Prada exclusive for the Spring/Summer 2027 season, a milestone that left her "dropping to her knees" in her hotel room upon hearing the news.
Why Raf Simons told her to "forget everything" her agent taught her
The transition to high fashion often requires unlearning traditonal training in favor of raw authenticity. During a job for Gucci in Florence, Darko encountered the unique direction of designer Raf Simons. According to the report, Simons encouraged her to abandon standard agency techniques, telling her to "just imagine you’re walking with your friends after a night out" instead of the rigid, practiced walk typically taught to newcomers.
This moment of redirection helped solidify her place on the Prada catwalk. Darko noted that while the pressure to perform is immense, the industry is less about the "drugs and rejection" she once feared and more about the ability to adapt to the specific vision of creative directorrs like Simons or Jonathan Anderson.
Navigating the "Hannah Montana" lifestyle between Dior and Miu Miu
To cope with the intense pressure of fashion month, Darko has adopted what she calls a "Hannah Montana" alter ego. This mental separation helps her manage the exhaustion of moving between model apartments in Paris and the emotional toll of the industry. She describes the experience of being a student one moment and a high-fashion icon the next as a surreal split identity.
Despite the glamour of meeting icons like Gigi Hadid backstage at Miu Miu or receiving praise from Jonathan Anderson, Darko admits to feeling the pressure to maintain a constant standard of beauty. She finds solace in the community of other models, noting that the connections formed at events like the Prada party are essential for preventing burnout and providing mutual motivation.
The tension between high-fashion runways and a future in landscape architecture
While her curernt trajectory points toward brands like Louis Vuitton and Victoria’s Secret, Darko’s long-term ambitions remain grounded in her academic interests. She has expressed a deep interest in landscape architecture and the possibility of building physical spaces in the future, rather than just walking through them.
This duality leaves several questions about her long-term path in the industry. It remains to be seen if the grueling schedule of a global modeling career will eventually force a pause in her urban planning studies, or if she will successfully pivot to a design career once the runway spotlight begins to fade.
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