Pulse supermodel Alicia Burke covers ‘Elle’

As the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, Pulse and Jamaica have reason to celebrate the country’s creative standard-bearers who work on the global stage. And what could be a more refreshing and pleasant respite from all the challenges of these times than to see one of our own home-grown supermodel, Alicia Burke, in a radiant glow on the cover of the German edition of Elle magazine?

Burke’s broad smile is alluring and brings back a liveliness that shines through the gloom of the coronavirus, while the shoot has a freshness of spring, which, significantly, represents a re-energising of life. “Alicia’s radiance and camera intelligence jump off the page in this newly released cover. She is conveying an infectious spirit with her smile, and this is what the world needs right now. Positive and uplifting energy, resilience, and a show of strong character are required as we look to a new normal,” Pulse co-managing director Romae Gordon said, enthused.

With this newest cover and editorial, Alicia adds yet another feather to her cap of amazing editorials. From the days of her Harper’s Bazaar cover to The Wall Street Journal and Marie Claire editorials in-between, Alicia continues to elevate her status on modelling’s highly competitive stage. Her booking of the Steven Meisel-lensed Italian Vogue cover has been the crowning achievement of what has so far been a truly remarkable career. No other Caribbean model has been featured on the Italian cover. For Caribbean models, her work with Vogue is only rivalled by that of her Pulse agency colleagues Jeneil Williams, Lois Samuels, and Sedene Blake, who have also graced the covers of other editions of Vogue.

Arguably, Burke is at the top of the pile, having appeared in multiple versions of Vogue represented across the continents, from Mexico to Spain and Germany to Japan. Only another Pulse agency mate, Nadine Willis, has appeared in more editions of the magazine.

High-fashion covers and editorials aside, Burke has been the major face for beauty and cosmetics brands in the United States and Europe, and her significant roster of beauty campaigns has catapulted her into star status worldwide and into being among the top 50 ranked models globally. Laura Mercier Cosmetics, Tom Ford, Bobbi Brown, Nars, Armani, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Gucci, and Dolce & Gabbana are a few of fashion’s mega brands for which Alicia has fronted campaigns.

“Alicia’s rise in world modelling is quite astonishing,” says Pulse Chairman Kingsley Cooper, who adjudged her the winner of the Pulse Caribbean Model Search reality-TV series in the 2015-16 season. “We saw her potential from the day she arrived at Pulse. I took her to London the following year, and her rise in global modelling was meteoric. Since then, market demand and the quality and volume of the work that she has booked has not abated,” a satisfied Cooper said.