There is no shortage of beautiful women in the world. But after decades spent strutting across international runways and preparing beauty queens for some of pageantry’s biggest stages, former model and renowned runway coach Lu Sierra believes Jamaican women possess something beauty alone cannot provide — hunger.

For Sierra, who was recently in the island as an international headliner for the inaugural Jamaica Beauty, Fashion & Wellness Week at AC Hotel Kingston, that hunger may very well be Jamaica’s secret weapon.

“The cheekbones, the jawlines and, most importantly, the hunger. I’m telling you right now that in this business, you’ve got to be hungry,” she said. “Modelling is not just something you show up to and say, ‘I thought I could do this because I’m tall.’ Your women come with a sense of ‘I’m hungry’,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

“They want it, and they get that from a generational kind of thing that if you want something, you’ve got to work for it. It won’t be handed to you. Your ladies come knowing that they’ve got to show up, look good, network, and ask questions. They come with a hunger as well as beauty.”

It is high praise from a woman whose career has afforded her a front-row seat to the international fashion and pageant industries.

Known as Runway Lu, Sierra has modelled for the likes of Bill Blass, Escada, Byron Lars, Bob Mackie, B Michael, Cesar Galindo, and Yves Saint Laurent. She has also worked as a muse fit model for fashion houses and designers including Oscar de la Renta, Givenchy, and Patrick Kelly.

Her career eventually expanded beyond walking the runway to teaching other women how to command it. Named Best Coach by the Global Beauty Awards, Sierra has become a runway expert, confidence mentor, and pageant coach whose work has extended to both the Miss USA and Miss Universe competitions.

It is against that international backdrop that Sierra has developed an appreciation for what Jamaican models bring to the table.

“Let’s face it, there are beautiful women everywhere in the world — Ukraine, Russia, Brazil — but Jamaica gives us some beautiful women who are hungry,” she said.

Long before becoming the coach helping other women navigate rejection, Sierra had to manoeuvre her own struggles. She recalled arriving in New York only to have modelling agents repeatedly point out the things they believed she needed to change.

“When I moved to New York, every agent rejected me. They told me, ‘Clear up your skin, lose weight, fix your teeth,’ and all that stuff,” she recalled.

Those experiences helped shape a philosophy she now passes on to the women she mentors: Rejection does not necessarily mean someone does not belong in the industry.

“You have to love what you do,” Sierra stressed. “There has to be something in you that says rejection doesn’t bother me and the word ‘no’ is not an option.”

Sierra’s own experience with rejection has also informed the way she defines beauty. There isn’t, she insists, a single formula as beauty is indeed in the eyes of the beholder.

“In one day I was told I was too skinny, too tall by one designer, not tall enough by another, too black by one designer, and too Puerto Rican by the other. Too pretty by one client and not pretty enough by the other,” she recalled.

For each client, she explained, their assessment was based on what they needed at that particular moment rather than an objective measure of her beauty or worth.

“There is no one thing. As I always tell girls, don’t get upset if they don’t want you, just find someone that does. Get up every day and do that. But that takes a special mentality to get up after rejection and say, ‘Today is a new day, and I’m going in,’ instead of starting to self-medicate.”

Sierra jetted off the island following the conclusion of the Miss Universe Jamaica pageant on Sunday, but not before dropping a few pointers on how pageant organisers can nab a few more titles internationally. For Sierra, the question isn’t whether Jamaica has women capable of competing with the world’s best, it’s a matter of support from the entire industry, especially local designers.

“Jamaica sends us some of the most beautiful women there is, and body — oh Lord!” she exclaimed. “I personally think it’s wardrobe and practising interviews more.”

After getting a first-hand look at local creativity during Jamaica Beauty, Fashion & Wellness Week, Sierra issued a direct challenge to Jamaican designers: Become more involved in outfitting the country’s representatives for the international stage.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what your local designers have to offer the world, and so I hope Jamaica makes this into something that can grow because Miss Jamaica Universe needs some of you designers to dress her,” she said. “When we go to Universe, the girls are dressed to the T. Some of the countries give these girls an outfit to wear. They walk into rehearsals and we’re like, ‘Oh my God!’ They have hand-painted boots, floral jackets that have been painted and things like that.”

“So I’m challenging the Jamaican designers to step up and have Miss Jamaica Universe go there and rock with her own countrymen’s outfit,” she continued.

But Sierra believes clothes are only part of the equation. If Jamaica wants to add more international crowns to its pageant résumé, she believes contestants must also become more comfortable with selling themselves when it matters.

“Your ladies come with a sweetness, kindness, and an island mentality that everyone is family,” she observed. You can be kind, but there has to be a certain sense of business with your answer.”

We teach our ladies in the island not to be boastful,” she continued. “But let me just say to the ladies, conceit is talking about yourself when no one asks. An interview is telling everyone the reason why you should win. It’s like a résumé. Please remember that. We need boss ladies.”