Later, granted asylum in Great Britain. She was discovered at a market in London in 1995. Appeared for fashion houses such as Gucci, Vivienne Westwood, Chanel, John Galliano, Fendi, Jean Paul Gaultier, Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, and Halston. Appeared on the cover of Elle. She signed to Models One, and it wasn't long before she appeared in a Tina Turner video and on the pages of cutting edge publications Vibe and i-D. Her distinctive looks, so different from the usual catwalk fare, caused a stir the world of fashion, and garnered a raft of awards, including "Best New Model" at the Venus de la Mode Fashion Awards, 1997 MTV model of the year, and "Model of the Decade" from i-D.

Outside her modelling commitments, Alek draws upon her own experiences as a refugee to help highlight the plight of the world's dispossessed and, as a member of the US Committee For Refugees' Advisory Council, campaigns to raise the profile of the humanitarian disaster in the Sudan.