Posted by models.com | November 5th, 2025

The Graduates

Gaye Serigne

For the past decade, Models.com’s The Graduates series has been a visual check-in with the models of the moment who have consistently performed at the highest levels, going from the rising newcomers on the Hot List to the Top 50 recognizable muses throughout the world. Stars like Bella Hadid, Hoyeon, Vittoria Ceretti, Selena Forrest, and Sora Choi, to name a few, have all taken part in the milestone series that uniquely marks the shift in a model’s career. With major bookings in editorials, advertisements, lookbooks, and on the runway, these models have consistently locked down luxury clients in the most competitive markets while continuing to dominate on the global stage.

To commemorate this season, we flew to Paris during the madness of fashion week to shoot all the top talent with photographer Valentin Herfray. This year’s cast connects with the Models.com team to divulge how they got their starts, the key brands and creatives that have made their careers, and taking their place in the upper echelons.

Photography Valentin Herfray c/o MA + Group
Director/Videographer Marcel Gitard
Editor-in-Chief Stephan Moskovic
Editorial Director Irene Ojo-Felix

Interviewer Irene Ojo-Felix
Stylist Morgane Camille
Hair Stylist Sarah Jo Palmer
Makeup Artist Porsche Poon
Manicurist Lora de Sousa
Movement Director Breckyn Davila Drescher

Director of Photography Mathis Frezouls
Post-Production Video Romain Verbois
Video Production Assistant Loïs Blondeau

Production 360PMMA + Group
Executive Producer Chris Cowan
Production Manager Julia Lellouche
Coordination En Mode
1st Assistant Photographer Remi Procureur
2nd Assistant Photographer Joshua Abecassis
Post-Production INK
Digital Operator Romain Boe
Stylist Assistants Elvira Tiaou
Hair Assistants Chinami Hamaguchi and Cara Cirujeda
Makeup Assistants Xiaoyuan Yang and Oksana Cherepanina
Nail Assistants Emma Giraudeau and Yoanna TG
Studio Location Studio Astre
Special Thanks Select Model Management Paris, Atours, and Christopher Michael at Egos & Icons

For Gaye Serigne, resilience isn’t just part of the narrative—it’s the whole arc. Born in Senegal and raised in Italy, the now–Top 50 model entered fashion at one of its most precarious moments, just before COVID upended normal casting cycles. Those first seasons in Milan were slow: endless castings, callbacks that didn’t convert, and a timetable that didn’t match his ambition. “I told my agent, ‘2023 is my last season—I’m going to try this one and that’s it,’” he recalls. “And then the Prada thing happened and Givenchy followed.” That initial single meeting with casting director Ashley Brokaw became the hinge point for others to start noticing him as well; his confident stride became a fixture on runways from Paris to New York, with standout turns for Tom Ford, Michael Kors, Jean Paul Gaultier, Eckhaus Latta, and back-to-back Saint Laurent menswear runs that confirmed Serigne as one of the most magnetic presences in men’s fashion.

Hat – YVES SAINT LAURENT VINTAGE at Atours | Leather jacket – GIORGIO ARMANI VINTAGE at PRECLOTHED
“I told my agent, ‘2023 is my last season…and that’s it,’…then the Prada thing happened and Givenchy followed.”

Hat – YVES SAINT LAURENT VINTAGE at Atours | Top – MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA VINTAGE at PRECLOTHED
Bangles – DOLCE VITA VINTAGE at PASSAGE
Off the runway, the lifelong dancer with a sharp eye for fashion channels his drive into movement, styling, and community. He proudly carries both his Senegalese roots and Italian upbringing into every room, using his platform to make the path clearer for the Black and multicultural talent coming up behind him—the same way models like Alton Mason and Alpha Dia once did for him. Off the runway, that mission takes shape through FVR the Culture, the Milan-based collective he co-founded to bring young creatives together across film, editorials, events, and even a new magazine, giving visibility to voices that might never have reached fashion’s front row. From nearly walking away to becoming a 2025 Models.com Graduate, Serigne stands in that sweet spot the series loves to celebrate: a model who didn’t just arrive, but arrived with purpose and plans to bring others with him.

 
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