From left are Jaunel McKenzie, Nadine Willis, Serchen MorrisYolande Gyles, Staff Reporter
IT HAS been a whirlwind year for Pulse models Serchen Morris, Jaunel McKenzie and Nadine Willis. During that time, they have become Pulse's three-pronged juggernaut on the international modelling scene.
In the past year, Willis has done the impossible in the model industry. She entered the Pulse Model Agency at age 22 and, by age 23 was being shot by Mario Testino, one of the world's best fashion photographers. To top it off, she landed a Gucci campaign. As of August 20, she has been ranked at number 25 in the top 50 models of the world for Models.com.
Meanwhile stablemate McKenzie, who won Pulse's Supermodel of the Caribbean' title last year, has also been gaining momentum in the overseas market.
She has already
been selected for campaigns with Nike and Gap. At the same time, she has been chosen for the 2004 Pirelli Calendar. Meanwhile, she has done editorials for Touch, the London Times, Vingt Ans & Spoon in Paris, Harper's & Queen and I-D.
On the male side of things Serchen Morris, 'Male Face of Jamaica 2002', has also been playing his role in the Jamaican model onslaught, with editorials in several British magazines, including Touch and V.
The Sunday Gleaner sat with the three model wunderkinds last week for a recap of the year. The first thing that is noticeable about them, sans make-up, is that they are nothing like the unapproachable characters they portray on the pages of the various fashion magazines. They also look like young fresh-faced, just out of school teenagers and not the world travelling models they really are.
Another thing that is equally striking is their obvious camaraderie.
THE SUNDAY GLEANER: What do you think of your accomplishments this past year?
Willis: "It is amazing, very amazing to see what I have achieved so far. I have been blessed by God."
Morris: "Well, it has been a pretty good year and I am pleased and surprised about all that has happened to me."
McKenzie: "I feel very good, in fact, great within myself. It is such a good feeling to know that I have accomplished all of this. You know Nike, Gap, the Pirelli calendar."
Serchen, you are a male model in the female-dominated fashion industry. What has your experience been thus far?
Morris: "Well, male models do have a presence in the industry - not as strong as the women, but we have our place. Designers are always making stuff for men and they are always showing them off. My experience has been all good so far. I don't have any horror stories to tell (he laughs, Willis and McKenzie join in)."
Are there any positions and things either of you would not do?
McKenzie: "For me, it is posing nude. Right now, I would not do that."
Willis: "Swimwear in the snow. I am not doing that. No shoots in swimwear in the snow."
Morris: "Nudity and certain ambiguous positions. Like I see some campaigns and they strike me and I would never do them."
What has been your most memorable experience of this past year?
Morris: Working with Mario Testino within a week of going to England.
Willis: That is big. He (Testino) is not a person you will say no to. To say no to him is like saying no to your career. He shot me for French Vogue, outside in the cold.
Doing magazine shoots in the cold? Did any of you expect the 'glamourous' world of modelling to be anything like the reality?
Willis: "Yes. None of us expected it to be easy. We were told that it was not going to be and it hasn't."
McKenzie: "We don't get to ride around in limos. Your agency tells you that you have a job and you get a map and are told to find your way and you have to reach a job on time."
Morris: "Time, that's a very big thing. You always have to get there on time and they don't really care if you are new and don't yet know your way. That's just how it is."
Willis: "And every client is important. They the clients will come late and they want you to be early. They want you to be there waiting on them."
How has the reception from other models been for you?
McKenzie: "I have had no problems with anybody. I live in a models' flat with girls from other countries and they have been great. They look out for me and are always happy whenever I succeed."
Willis: "Well, I stay with family when I am working, but the models I have dealt with they have been very nice. I have heard about the 'bitches' and some of them are out there, but I have never met up on any."
Morris: "The male models I have met, they have been very friendly towards me and there have been no problems."
So how has the model
world responded to you all as Jamaicans in the model
business?
Willis: "It makes them more interested in us. Everybody has heard about Jamaica and everybody wants to come here. It is very amazing to see how people respect us over there."
McKenzie: "Well, they always want me to speak patois you know, 'Wha a gwaan'. They
really love hearing about Jamaica and they ask me a
bunch of questions."
What of the future? What
do you all have planned?
Willis: "I want to reach the extreme top in the business. This thing doesn't go on for long and at my age, 23, I don't have much time left. I want to open an agency for Black models, because I realise they don't know how to market Black models."
McKenzie: "Well I plan to keep doing this as long as it lasts. When I am finished I will open my own grooming school."
Morris: "I plan to modelling for a couple of years and get all that I can out of it. At the same time I will continue to study. I am certified computer technician (he currently works with Syncon Technology) and so I will continue to study and then one day open my own business."
