New agency on the block: Wasomi Beauty Talent and Modeling Agency makes debut
Published:Sunday | December 18, 2022 | 1:47 AMStephanie Lyew - Gleaner Writer
The global fashion industry has become more diverse over the past five years with representation spanning race, age, shape, and talent. For the founders of the newest modelling agency on the block, Wasomi Beauty, as an inclusive brand, it aims to bring more opportunities forward and to produce top-tier models and talents.
Aptly called Wasomi, which is Swahili for ‘elite’, the agency recently launched a dynamic fashion showcase featuring the collections of 10 international and local designers. According to co-founder and photographer Orville Spence, the need to come up with Wasomi Beauty Talent and Modeling Agency was borne out of a passion to expose and unveil beauty and from his own challenges in finding diverse models for inspiration.
“Agencies in Jamaica stick to the books or what we would call the ancient laws of modelling. Wasomi Beauty is not doing that; we are creating something different, which starts with our tiers and exploring the world of entertainment in another way, because there are many aspects to modelling we will be maximizing on all of them,” he told The Sunday Gleaner.
Spence reiterated that Wasomi Beauty will be bringing a breath of fresh air into the industry, changing narratives of modelling in Jamaica. He noted that, unlike many other modelling agencies, Wasomi Beauty will take its models to the runway or talents to the stage and create other means of income, including areas such as singing and dancing.
He said, “We plan on teaching modelling, as well as acting to individuals who show that potential; other agencies just look for bodies and faces that would look good on a runway, we are thinking above that. We want to encourage our models to take part in our acting tiers so that it can be another stream of income for them, as well as we plan to create our plays and showcase them both locally and internationally, which will also be a paid opportunity. On top of that, we will be doing road work to get them auditions for ads and commercials and still reach out to international agencies in support of adding our models to their team.”
The agency, which is a partnership and collaboration between Spence, popular model coach, Martha McGregor, and socio-economic inaugurator, Phil Edwards, who dabbled in modelling in his younger years, currently manages the portfolios of four models, but anticipates people will be flooding its doorsteps by the end of 2023.
Once known as a disc jockey with one of Jamaica’s top sound systems, Spence said that launching the agency was a way to show another side of his creative being. “Music does to the ears what photography does to the eyes and they both challenge me to create. I have always been into the art of photography while as a DJ, but not until 2014 did I take it from a hobby to a professional level. I have also spoken to models on shoots who are looking for opportunities to do more, but are unable to, (so) with my team, I plan to make a difference, it doesn’t stop at runways or fashion shows,” he said.
“We have always been in this industry at some point in our lives before thinking about starting our own agency. However, we recently saw an opportunity not offered by any other agencies here in Jamaica and we decided to make use of the opportunity especially now that it’s post-pandemic. One of our main goals would be to launch our first tier come January and have over 50 models signed to the agency. To add, completing our first theatre piece and showcasing it locally.”
McGregor, an experienced model, and coach, was dubbed ‘the face’ of Wasomi Beauty, by patrons who attended the fashion show, not only because of her image, but the way she dominated the runway.
She explained that being one of the founding members of the agency complements what she has been involved in for many years. “For one, I am still a model, but I am capable in my role where I supervise persons in the business, and with my experience, I can manage models along with talents. My advice to people will always be, never think that you are not enough because you are not tall enough, slim enough, or pretty enough. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder; you don’t have to be on a runway to be a model. There are other areas and Wasomi Beauty is here to teach that.,” McGregor said.
She added, “The modelling industry internationally has become very diverse. As such, our eyes are not limited to just the ancient standard requirements for being a model. With that said the industry standards right now are females being 5’2 to 6’ and slender to athletic built or full figure and for males it’s 5’10 to 6’2 slender to athletic built. We are not limiting ourselves to just standard requirements, if an individual doesn’t meet the said requirements, which are actually ‘runway requirements’, but has an image that can be used for other purposes other than runway such as photoshoots, ads, and commercials, then they are Wasomi Beauty material. We also embrace social media stars and influencers if they wish to become clients of our agency.”
The modelling industry is gradually embracing full-size models, among other qualities that were not accepted before, and Wasomi Beauty claims that within the next decade, they are looking to see more plus-size models on the runway and on the cover of legendary fashion magazines. With Wasomi Beauty accepting persons outside of the industry standards, “I would say we are aiming to be ahead of the evolution and we see ourselves evolving just fine with the industry and with each of us pulling our weights,” McGregor shared.