Leighton Levy, Gleaner Writer

Campbell

Just over two months after he was crowned Saint International Male Model Icon 2008, Armando Campbell has been snapped up by one of the world's leading fashion agencies.

Campbell, a past student of St Andrew Technical High School, who hails from Hope Flats in St Andrew, was recently signed by Next, an agency based in New York, with offices in Paris and London.

Campbell was delighted by the news when he was told by Saint International's chief executive officer Dweight Peters, who negotiated the deal just about two weeks ago while on a business trip to New York.

Very excited

"I was very excited," said an elated Campbell, who, before he won the Male Model Icon competition, was a clerk in Sangster's Book Store on Constant Spring Road.

He said within the last two weeks - before he got the news that he had been signed - he was watching a reality show called 'Made' on MTV and on the episode he watched, a young man was signed by Next. He said he realised what the agency did for the young man and how they worked to help him develop as a person and as a model.

So when Peters gave him the news, he was flabbergasted. He said most people would have been satisfied to have been signed by any of the top 10 agencies in the world but "Next is at least in the top five."

"I am very happy for him," Peters said. He said Armando's signing lends further credence to the authenticity of the Model Icon search, as last year's Female Model Icon, Anastasia, was signed by a leading agency in South Africa.

Exclusive managers

Next, Peters said, will be exclusive managers for Armando. They will now be working to develop his image for the international market, positioning him for their leading clients, including Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Niemen Marcus and Bloomingdales, among others.

This first phase of Armando's career includes developing his portfolio by getting him photo shoots with New York's leading fashion photographers.

Peters said that agencies like Next see thousands of aspiring models every year so Armando's signing must be seen as another success story for Saint International. He added that there were about four or five other wtop agencies that were interested in signing the 22-year-old model.