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Jenese Roper stars in Saint Laurent campaign

Published:Tuesday | October 4, 2016 | 12:00 AM
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Saint International's CEO Deiwght Peters and latest superstar Jenese Roper join power stylist Alastair Mckimm (who styled the Saint Laurent show) and Fashion Director at I-D Magazine backstage before the Saint Laurent show in Paris recently.
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Saint CEO Deiwght Peters left: with Helen Bodet (director of booking at Elite Paris), Jenese Roper and Vick Mihaci(President of Elite Paris).
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Jenese hair gets a final shape-up before show time for her international runway debut at the world-famous Saint Laurent Spring-2017 show at Paris Fashion Week on September 27th.
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Jenese Before: The digitals taken by Saint CEO Deiwght Peters that caught the interest of the Saint Laurent team in Paris.
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Jenese Roper (left) and her new-found model friend Mag Cysewska (from Poland) give backstage pose before showtime of the Spring 2017 Saint Laurent show in Paris recently.
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Jenese After: Saint-Laurent designer Anthony Vacarello referenced Jamaican legend Grace Jones for the new runway hair-style for Jenese's breakout fashion moment.
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The Saint Laurent brand, under new creative director Anthony Vacarello tapped the Saint model (and newly minted Fashion Face of the Caribbean) to be one of the new faces of the brand's new global image direction. This was the model's first international job.
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Saint International's Deiwght Peters is celebrating his agency's Sweet 16 anniversary by churning out more model stars.
His latest protege, Jenese Roper, a leggy 16-year-old from his home parish of Clarendon, made an impressive runway debut in the City of Lights. Jenese made her first runway appearance as a worldwide exclusive for Saint Laurent, Paris.
It was as impressive as it was historic - a first for a new Jamaican model. Without any portfolio, Jenese's first job was the worldwide print campaign for Saint Laurent. This is a major accomplishment with this booking made from Jamaica by Peters.
The wind of change blowing through the French fashion house brought Anthony Vacarello to the helm of the fashion brand. In April this year, Peters and Roper were summoned to Paris for a meeting with the new Saint Laurent team. So impressed were they with the energy and look of the young model that they quickly confirmed her for an international advertising campaign.
For Jenese, this has been a bittersweet moment. She lost her mother to cancer earlier this year (around the time of her birthday in May). "I am happy for this moment. My mom would feel good about it because she always said I was her superstar. I know she is proud of me and she is in heaven watching over me," Jenese told Outlook.


NEXT MOVES
Jenese's hectic Paris schedule included meeting with the team, fittings, and getting a new hairstyle. Her once fluffy Afro was transformed to a Grace Jones-esque box do, supervised directly by the designer himself. Jenese's look in the show was a clear reference to the Yves Saint Laurent archival 'Le Smoking' (tux for women) career-defining moment for the legendary designer.
Peters explained that Jenese is being managed to have the best career possible for the long term. The Saint boss noted that her global team would be selective about editorials and other assignments to be pursued.
Jenese is following in the footsteps of former Saint supermodels Kai Newman and Tami Williams and is now attending Quality Academics - a private institution school known for its success rate.
"Getting educated and exposed are crucial to the long-term success of the models. I want to ensure Jenese gets access to the best possible education that puts her in good stead for the future. It's a balance of discipline and tough love," Peters said.
He added, "Jenese has got an unbelievable start in the business with one of the most important fashion brands in the world. Her future is among the brightest of new models in the business right now."
Peters has confirmed her European management team to include long-time Saint collaborators Premier Models (London), Why Not Models (Milan) and Elite Models (Paris).