Cady-Ann Brown.
PULSE'S CARIBBEAN Model Search has surpassed the 4000 entrant mark, after a massive search over the weekend. According to a Pulse release, 920 contestants vied for a place in the search on the weekend at Coral Cliff in Montego Bay and Island Village in Ocho Rios. Sixty-eight of those 920 were selected to go on to the semi-finals scheduled for July 31, August 7 and August 8, with competitions for men, petite women and women respectively. For the semi-finals, the entrants will be narrowed from 896 to 600, with 200 contestants in each category.
The finals of the Male Face of Jamaica and the Petite Jamaica Fashion Model will take place on August 14 and the Jamaica Fashion Model and Caribbean Fashion Model finals on August 15. Winners of each competition, along with representatives from other Caribbean countries including Antigua, Guyana and St. Lucia, will vie for the title of Caribbean Fashion Model.
According to the release, the response to the Model Search "can only be attributed to the success of Pulse models, especially in those first 20 amazing days of January and since".
Jaunel McKenzie, 2002 Caribbean Model Search winner, went on to achieve near-supermodel status internationally, being ranked number 39 on models.com's top 50 models of the world. She has had numerous successes, including multiple appearances in American Vogue; has shot editorials and campaigns for GQ, Neiman Marcus and Abercrombie & Fitch. According to Pulse CEO, Kingsley Cooper, "Jaunel has been chosen as the symbol of this year's search, because as the first ever winner of the Search when it went Caribbean wide in 2002, she has gone on to become one of the megastars of the industry." Jaunel will be featured in a number of Search-related activities to be announced.
Finalists in last year's search, Sunna Gottshalk and Rochelle Watson, have also enjoyed some measure of success. Sunna has shot with Elle, Black Book and Fader magazines, while Rochelle was featured in several shows during London Fashion Week, including the Jasper Conrad collection. Caribbean Fashion Model 2003 winner Cady-Ann Brown is the "dazzling doe-like face" on the new Lee's Fifth Avenue and Coca Cola boards across Jamaica.
The Pulse Model Search has produced many of Jamaica's top international models over its 17 year history, including Angela Neil, Lois Samuels, Romae Gordon and Serchen Morris.
Winners of the competitions will receive guaranteed modelling contracts and a successful modelling career, says Cooper.
