Naomy

Who:
Naomy Garcia, 179 cm / 5’10.5″, Venezuelan, born February 10th.

Where:
Gucaya Model Management (Mother Agency), The Society Management (New York), Elite Paris (), Elite Milan (), Elite London (), Elite Spain (Barcelona), Elite Copenhagen ()

— One thing people may be surprised to find out about you?
I was raised with the idea that beauty was the one we see in beauty contests. For me, makeup was a must. I dyed my hair since I was very young. When my mother agency found me, all my photos on Instagram were with makeup and blonde hair. I looked much older than my age at that time (18 years old), however, they were able to see my model potential beyond this makeup and hair so they asked me for natural digitals. They loved my look and asked me to dye my hair back to my natural color. Nowadays I rarely wear makeup, my hair is healthy and natural again, and I have learned to appreciate my true and natural beauty.

— Who is someone you admire and why?
Working as a model you get to know so many interesting and admirable people however the person I admire the most is my mom. I admire her courage and strength to single raise me. She is my mother and my father, she has been in literally every step of my life and she has taught me the values that define me as a person. I will be forever grateful for her supporting my dreams and giving me so much love.

— Your most embarrassing moment:
My most embarrassing moment was definitely at the Missoni FW20 show. The shoes were super small and I was tripping at the end of the show. I felt super bad because I really respect the work of the designers so I sent a DM to Angela Missoni apologizing for this. She was super kind and told me that she was the one who was sorry. She said that it was not my fault, the shoes were too small and that I did great. She told me that most of the models experience this type of situations sometimes. Days after she sent me an old video of Gisele Bündchen tripping during a Missoni show. This made me feel relaxed about it as I was really worried.

Mbaye

Who:
Mbaye Samb, 188 cm / 6’2″, Senegalese/American, born January 6th.

Where:
SKorpion MGMT (New York – mother agency)

— An issue or cause you are passionate about:
An issue I’m passionate about is bringing aid to the poor and homeless children who have no food, or clean drinking water around the world and especially in my home country.

— What are three interesting facts about you?
I speak 4 languages, I have 18 siblings, I love human interaction.

— Who is someone you admire and why?
I admire my mother because she worked really hard as a single mom to raise my siblings in New York City. She taught me that in life, the work you put in is the result you receive and things that come easy won’t last long.

Flora

Who:
Flora George, 178 cm / 5’10”, Nigerian, born August 14th.

Where:
Lit Models (Lagos – mother agency, New Icon New York (), Metropolitan / M Management / Makers (Paris), Wonderwall Management (Milan), PRM Agency (London)

— The most interesting thing about your family?
We are the real “Fuji House of Commotion” if you’ve been around my family before I’m sure you couldn’t stop laughing there’s always a vibe. But the fights, the love… That’s the amazing thing and that’s what makes us family.

— Who is someone you admire and why?
Naomi Campbell. She’s phenomenal. In fact, she’s a god. Only she can do what she does.

— The best and worst aspects of your personality:
The best aspects of my personality are I’m really funny and a good conversationalist. The worst aspect of my personality is I’m too raw, I don’t sugar coat words, I always say what it is. If you do something wrong and I don’t like it I’ll tell you.

Felix

Who:
Felix Cheong-Macleod, 183 cm / 6’0″, Scottish, born December 5th.

Where:
Savalas Models – (Newcastle upon Tyne – mother agency)

— What are three interesting facts about you?
I used to act, dance and do ballet, I love all forms of art and have gone through stages of drawing, playing music, and writing. I’ve worked as a mortgage advisor and as a chef, and now I find it really meditative to cook.

— What is something you wish you knew more about?
I’m really interested in design, especially typography and graphic design, and I’d love to know more about those, I mess around with it sometimes but I’m planning to properly study it when there’s more free time in the summer.

— One thing people may be surprised to find out about you?
I study mathematics at university.

Akari

Who:
Akari Higashi, 172 cm / 5’8″, Japanese, born August 13th.

Where:
VIVA Models Berlin (mother agency), Bravo Models (Tokyo)

— How and when did you become a model?
My mum was a model, but for the longest time, I was never interested in modeling at all — until two years ago where I had the chance to do a photoshoot in Japan and loved it. Last summer I auditioned at my mother agency in Berlin and everything else started from there.

— Something you are self-conscious about:
Growing up internationally, I speak Japanese, Portuguese and German, but I am self-conscious about not having really learned English well. Besides, more languages mean it is also more challenging to speak any of them well!

— The most interesting thing about your family:
I am the second oldest in a family of 6 children and grew up in Japan, Brazil and Germany. Before we moved to Berlin, I lived mostly in the countryside — playing outside, enjoying gardening, eating healthy food, etc. — and I feel quite lucky to have grown up with this natural lifestyle.

Samuel

Who:
Samuel Barradas, 187 cm / 6’1.5″, Portuguese, born August 12th.

Where:
We Are Models (Lisboa – mother agency), Marilyn Agency (Paris), d’management group (Milan)

— What are three interesting facts about you?
I played basketball for 5 years; I love to sail. I used to go out to the sea with my dad a lot when I was younger. My favorite food is a traditional Portuguese style steak, which consists of a steak, smoked ham on top, round fried potatoes and a special sauce.

— The most interesting thing about your family:
I have two sisters, one is 15 years older than me and the other one is 362 days younger than me – we don’t even have a whole year between us. The most interesting thing about my family is that my mum and dad have the same birthday! Also, my mum’s brother and my dad’s brother have both the same name and were born on the same day and year too!

— Your most embarrassing moment:
When I was younger, I was at school and I was playing hide and seek with my friends at break. At some point, I decided to climb a tree to hide. At the end of the game, I was trying to climb down from the tree but I couldn’t, so I jumped. What I didn’t realize was that my pants were stuck on a branch and when I jumped, it made a massive hole! Everybody started laughing at me, but I must admit it was quite funny.