Krista Henry, Staff Reporter

Saint International's Kibwe Mcgan in a Carlton Brown design. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

ALTHOUGH THESE are male models booked for good jobs every day, only a choice few achieve the elusive ideal - booking maximum visibility campaigns, editorials and being shot by the world's most influential photographers.

Visibility is what the smart model converts into dollars and longevity, driving up his catalogue rates and converting his status from fad to fixture. Yet, male models are not being appreciated in a primarily female-dominated field.

Director of Pulse, Romae Gordon, explained to The Gleaner that "women are generally more successful than the men in this industry. It is the one professional field in which women consistently earn higher incomes than men. The women play the lead role in most of fashion's advertising. In cases where men appear with women, the former are mostly in secondary roles. It is significantly more challenging for the men to succeed internationally. It is even more difficult for black male models to break into the market".

Breakthroughs

Pulse model Hector Lincoln. - Contributed

Despite these difficulties, Pulse has had a few breakthroughs with the likes of Hector Lincoln, Kahlil Marks and notably Oraine Barrett, who has appeared in Italian Vogue and done numerous campaigns such as Ralph Lauren, Target, Diesel, Lacoste, Calvin Klein and countless others.

And when a male hits the high of visibility in campaigns and fashion shows, they hit it big, fast becoming household names.

It is male models that raise the blood pressure of the watchful female eye trained on their sculptured bodies. With exceedingly tall frames, strong faces and toned bodies, male bodies have a longer lifespan than female models.

According to Gordon, there is less emphasis placed on the age of male models, as men can enter the market at a relatively advanced age or enjoy their youthful years in modelling. This is one of the reasons that numerous males are auditioning to become models for Pulse and other agencies.

A select few

Gordon said: "The perception of the male model has changed considerably over time and, as a consequence, we are seeing an increasing number of men coming to our open calls. Apart from the fact that they see modelling as an opportunity to earn a living, men's fashion and grooming have changed significantly over the years, and the market trends are reflecting this. The industry has therefore had to respond with increased advertising cam-paigns and magazines dedicated specifically to men."

While there is an increase in young men wanting to travel the world as models, it is still a select few that make it big, such as Saint International model Kibwe. However, for O'Neil Facey, a 19-year-old model for Saint International, he has not had it so easy in his modelling career. Having been with Saint for about a year, Facey has not landed any shows internationally and claims modelling is a female industry.

He said: "Male models are less successful, of course. Males in general don't really get no compliments from modelling; its made for females."