Model, actress, and radio host Refilwe Modiselle has added another major achievement to her remarkable career. On Saturday, 4 October 2025, the star was honoured with the Outstanding Contribution to Fashion award at the South Africa Fashion Awards, held at the luxurious Hotel Sky in Sandton.
The glamorous event brought together some of South Africa’s biggest names in fashion, celebrating creativity, innovation, and excellence in the industry. Refilwe’s win was one of the highlights of the evening, marking a proud moment not only for her but for many who have followed her inspiring journey over the years.
Taking to Instagram, Refilwe shared an emotional message reflecting on her two-decade-long career and the meaning behind this recognition.
She wrote, “A life lived with evolution & reinvention & 20+ years later… my first Honorary Award of this degree from the first annual @southafricafashionawards in partnership with @worldfashionawards for my ‘Outstanding Contribution to Fashion 2025,’ acknowledging my contribution as a pioneer as ‘Africa’s first successful model with albinism,’ to the scope of what you see commercially now in the industry. God said … ‘my child let the world/ your nation acknowledge the journey I made you go through with all its hardships…. You remained consistent & obedient, never giving up’ & here I am today still standing tall as the vessel who would fuel the change slowly needed in inclusivity & representation.”
She continued in her heartfelt post, “Redefining the standards of beauty & sparking the necessary conversations needed to make every person with a difference never feel that they don’t have a sense of belonging! We are all born of purpose. You choose if you want to follow through or just exist. There’s a difference between truly living vs just existing!”
Refilwe also took a moment to thank her loved ones, sharing, “PS. Two of the most dearest people in my life l’m happy to have featured in this video… @amirx_1 who l’ve called my guardian angel on earth for years since I was a kid & @agrippadumisani my bestie!!! There’s more but l’ll save. I’m so grateful…. God knows how this year alone has hit me with multiple milestones I have no words for, except to echo deeply ‘I knew you before you were formed in your mother’s womb… plans to prosper you & not to harm you’ also ‘when the time is right, I the Lord will make it happen.’”
