Modeling Journey

During the late Eighties, Kara Young formed part of an elite group of African-American models who helped to redefine the ideal of the "All-American" look. Young along with fellow compatriots Karen Alexander, Veronica Webb, Louise Vyent, Beverly Peele and Gail O'Neill heralded a shift in society's perception of All-American beauty from the stock standard blonde hair blue-eyed look to an appreciation of the true American melting pot.

Young began modelling in 1987 in her hometown of San Francisco and her modelling career kicked into overdrive when she moved to New York a year later, signing with Elite Model Management. With her smouldering gaze, cheshire cat grin and wild, unruly tresses, Young had a look which was distinct, fresh and alluring. Young was a muse for photographer Santé D'Orazio to whom she was married at the time and consequently was photographed frequently by D'Orazio for British Vogue, Vogue Italia and Paris Vogue.

Young's bi-racial looks played to her advantage by appealing to a broad cross-section of communities. Recognising her mass-market appeal, US Vogue selected Young to appear on an unprecedented three solo covers of the fashion bible photographed by Richard Avedon and Patrick Demarchelier. Young's girl-next-door look also made her a regular fixture in mainstream fashion publications including Glamour, Mademoiselle and US Elle. Advertising campaigns for the Gap, Byblos, Revlon and Guerlain cosmetics followed suit as well as appearances in the Victoria's Secret catalogue and Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue, making Young one of the most in-demand models of her generation.

Sixteen year old Herieth Paul has undergone more than her fair share of changes over the past four years. In 2007, Herieth moved from her native Tanzania in Africa to Ottawa Canada, with her diplomat mother. Two years later, unbeknownst to her mother, Herieth walked into an open casting call for Angies Model & Talent in Ottawa and was swiftly signed up. Now aged sixteen, Herieth is being carefully groomed and developed by Women Direct in New York as one of the agency's most promising new faces.

Under the guidance of Women Direct, Herieth underwent a dramatic change in appearance with her shoulder length silky black tresses being traded for a closely cropped buzz cut, accentuating to her delicate, gamine features and lending her more of a high fashion contemporary feel. Herieth's modelling career has since taken off to a promising start with lucrative campaigns for Diesel and cK One under the belt, and editorial appearances in Vogue Italia lensed by Steven Meisel, and for Dazed & Confused, Teen Vogue, American Elle and Black Book magazine.

Herieth appears to be relatively unfazed by the recent changes and is focused instead on achieving her goals of appearing "on the cover of every magazine." In an interview for the Cut, Herieth is equally poised when asked if "it difficult as a black model to land high profile work as compared to your non-ethnic counterparts", to which she responds, "Well, I'm new to this industry and I never really thought of it that way. But no, I think that if you work hard you get what you deserve."

Many of the most iconic fashion images of all-time, feature models photographed in groupings by the likes of photographers; Richard Avedon, Herb Ritts, Peter Lindbergh, Steven Meisel, Annie Leibovitz, Mario Testino, Patrick Demarchelier and Irving Penn. During the nineties the emergence of the supermodel phenomenon was greatly influenced by the photographs taken of a select group of women who would eventually be referred to as the "Supes." When I think of the term "supermodel", the classic Peter Lindbergh January 1990 British Vogue cover shot of Naomi Campbell, Tatjana Patitz, Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford and Christy Turlington instantly springs to mind. More than 20 years have passed since I first laid eyes on this image and still, I am enthralled by its beauty, so much so that I have a print of it framed and taking pride of position in my hallway.

I love analysing the dynamic and composition of various images featuring grouped models. The first thing I look for is the suitability of the selection of models. Do their individual looks compliment each other? Are the models working in unison to achieve that singular shot which encapsulates the photographer's vision? How are the model's bodies positioned in relation to one another and in relation to the image frame. I also look for elegance of the positioning of the model's limbs and the energy which transpires between the model's themselves.

The images featured below are amongst my favourites and all project a momentous sense of occasion. One gets an inkling that there is an acknowledgement of pride and appreciation amongst the models at having been selected as one of the chosen few. I only hope that today's generation of photographers will continue to follow in the ilk of Avedon, Lindbergh et al. by allowing top-tier models the opportunity to shine in equally, beautifully composed group portraits.