Saint men look for good start

New York Fashion Week kick-starts runway season

The global fashion week cycle begins on Thursday when Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week takes the style spotlight to Lincoln Center for the Spring-Summer 2013 collections. While the majority of shows present trends in womenswear, there are many co-ed shows and some substantive menswear collections that also make the schedule.

While the Saint female models have traditionally dominated appearance on the top shows such as Calvin Klein, Custo Barcelona, Marc Jacobs there are a few men who want it to be a game-changing season.

Led by Brad Allen, who had a sterling Milan Menswear show season, the Saint boys are confident in runway glory this season.

This past July, Allen made a splash at the Milan menswear collections, walking for powerful international brands Costume National, Z Zegna and Iceberg as the only male model representing brand Jamaica.

This success follows in the wake of Saint's Fashion Face Orlando Lopez's exploits. Lopez went to Milan during the fall season and worked on a special project with London's global power brand, Burberry.

"Allen is already getting great feedback from directional clients and should do well this show season," said Deiwght Peters, who represents Allen and guides his international career from the headquarters of Saint International in Jamaica.

In the meantime, Saint's new face Kimanie Farquharson is being strategically positioned with specific clients. He has already appeared editorially for top photographers such as Paola Kudacki.

Sean Thompson, who walked away with the 2012 Male Fashion Face Of the Caribbean, is now with top-ranking men's agency New York Models. He is in full developmental mode and is expecting to get strong feedback from some of the industry's most prominent players this season.

Saint's male model division has consistently produced stunning and recognisable international achievements and for this reason the agency was featured among the best international agencies in the fashion bible V Magazine.

This was a first for any Caribbean model agency.

The twice-yearly Fashion Week seasons are often likened to the Olympics in sport, as top models in the world share the glamorous spotlight with newcomers who aim to impress the legion of power-players, including designers, casting directors, stylists, make-up artists, and observers.