The Graduates
Barbara Valente
Since 2013, Models.com’s The Graduates series has been a visual check-in with the models of the moment who have risen through the ranks of the Hot List to the top working models in the world. Cementing themselves in editorials, advertisements, lookbooks, and on the runway, these global muses have consistently locked down luxury clients. Shot in New York before fashion week by photographer Myles Loftin, this year’s list stands as a testament to the fashion industry’s tenacity and forward expansion.
Visit her Models.com page and click or tap the Lists button to favorite Barbara and keep track of her work.
Photography by Myles Loftin for Models.com
Styling – Roberto Johnson
Hair – Ro Morgan
Makeup – Tyron Machhausen
Nails – Jazz Style
Model – Barbara Valente
Photographer Assistant – Andrew Espinal | Stylist Assistant – Alexa Levine | Hair Assistant – Kristen Lynet
Sittings Editor & interview by Irene Ojo-Felix
Production – Sasha Grinblat
Associate Editor – Anire Ikomi | Social Media Coordinator – River Rodriguez
On Barbara above: Dress and gloves – Et Ochs | Jewelry – Jennifer Fisher
Born in Salvador, Bahia, Barbara Valente had been working part-time jobs since she was 16 until a cousin overseas asked if she had ever thought about modeling. For the Top 50 Brazilian, the opportunity to support her family financially was a driving force to take up the offer. After being introduced to a few agencies in São Paulo in 2015, the rest was history, and that same year she made her exclusive debut for Prada. “I remember my agent at the time had just sent my digitals to Ashley Brokaw,” Valente recalls in the casting lead-up to her debut. “I had to fly to Milan to meet her. On the way to Milan, I was stopped at border control in Portugal for more than 5 hours until I was allowed to go on. At the time, I spoke no English. I remember Ashley asking me how old I was, and I replied, ‘I am good.’”
Since that momentous debut, Valente has gone on to monumental success as a muse for Daniel Lee’s Bottega Veneta, then amassing over 10 campaigns with top clients like Tom Ford, Mugler, Max Mara, and Fendi. Working with renowned photographers like Craig McDean, Tyrone Lebon, and Carlijn Jacobs, Valente’s biggest takeaway on the business is it’s as demanding as a marathon with a pace more akin to a full-out sprint. “We must work hard; care for ourselves mentally, spiritually, and physically; abdicate from seeing our families and friends and living nowhere and everywhere,” she describes the nomadic experience. “Having a good team of agents by your side is crucial to help you understand your career and to guide you on.” Her agents were able to secure 20 shows just this past season, including walks for Tom Ford, Dion Lee, Burberry, Nensi Dojaka, and Peter Do, the latter a designer Valente told us at the top of the year she was eager to work with. “I was thrilled to walk for a brand with such a humane and creative team behind it, expanding it in novel ways,” she describes. “That’s what motivates me – working with minds that push my own creative boundaries to reinvent myself, leave my mark in this industry, and achieve what I haven’t accomplished yet.”
According to a Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics study released in 2016, 54% of Brazilians identify as black or multiracial [CNN]. When the Brazilian Bombshell era was at its height, the idea of what a Brazilian model looked like to global audiences was one-dimensional, filtered through a spectrum of colonial influence. Thankfully, model pioneers paved the way for a diverse generation of new faces from Brazil to enter the international arena, yet Valente describes moments when she’s felt pigeonholed. “To be seen as a woman who can have a versatile look [has been challenging],” for Valente. ”As a Latina and mixed-race woman, I still want to break many stereotypes. In the end, it is about the energy you give off and how we work it instead of being one more stereotyped face for a particular story.” Now among the Top 50 working models ranked in the world, Valente sets her sights on solidifying her staying power.
