Dreams of international modelling careers with designer catwalk glides in the world’s fashion capitals filled the minds of entrants in this Saturday’s Saint International Fashion Face of the Caribbean competition as they went through the paces at a training session last weekend.

Pausing from perfecting runway walks guided by Saint’s Deiwght Peters at Edna Manley College for Performing and Visual Arts Auditorium, Kemar Pitter has fingers crossed of a break into the global fashion industry.

“I see myself working in London because that city has a more open culture where clients are more likely to book a new model once they possess striking features, regardless of whether they have an extensive portfolio or not,” opined the angular-faced hopeful, who maintains a day job as a marketing strategist.

Pitter, who entered the contest after scrolling upon an Instagram ad post in April, is among Saint’s 2025 class of 35 male and 45 female contestants.

The lean and limber newbies, spanning high school adolescents to working twentysomethings, will be paraded to scouts from visiting North American and European modelling agencies ready to launch Jamaica’s next top model to the international market.

Meanwhile, Immaculate Conception High School fourth-former Soraya Scott credited her fashion designer parent, Angela Wilkinson, as the nudge for her presence in the high-stakes contest.

“My mom saw the ad on social media and told me to take a chance with it,” shared Scott, who is a competitive swimmer and represented Team Jamaica at the Pan Am Aquatics Championships back in May in Medellin, Colombia.

With ambitions “to be an aerospace engineer or do something in the arts like film or directing”, she said participating in Saint’s weekend training sessions has positively impacted her.

“It’s been very informative and I developed my runway walking abilities even though there is still room for improvement. The atmosphere here is really nice, and I’m comfortable knowing that everybody here is learning and nobody is judging you…” she told the Jamaica Observer.

“I wasn’t previously interested in modelling, but a lot of my peers, friends and family members said I could excel in the field so I was sent to Deiwght,” shared Presley Hart, who attends Hillel Academy and is the son of well-known radio disc jockey, Orrett “Bambino” Hart.

Assessing his journey, the 18-year-old said: “So far, the learning curve hasn’t been too demanding… Everything involved in the process has also been useful.”

Ahead of Saturday night’s fashion spectacular at the AC Hotel, which will also see the Avant Garde Designer of the Year contest taking place, with 25 designer entrants, Saint boss Peters said he is looking forward to a homecoming of several successful models from his agency’s stable.

“Seeing so many of Saint’s stars flying in for the kick-off celebration event is definitely a major highlight. Our top models Tami Williams, Kai Newman, Naki Depass, and Wayne Booth defy the odds and still have strong international careers after more than 10 years in the business. It feels very special… Our Fashion Face winner from 2002, Marlando Vassell, jetted in from London with his son, who is also a child model, to lend his support. This is just exciting.”

The model impresario revealed that, in addition to the scores of Jamaican contestants, a number of Guyanese entrants who he had scouted have arrived in the island to compete in tomorrow’s show.

From left: Shaheem Cole, Presley Hart and Zachary James are among the 35 male entrants in this year’s Saint Fashion Face of the Caribbean competition.