Alexandra
Who:
Alexandra Stein (@9eminine) — 178 cm / 5’10” — French from Paris, France — born June 6th — she/her.
Where:
STUDIO Paris (mother agency)
— How did you become a model?
I was working as a freelance photographer and assistant for a few years before the pandemic, after which I was too destabilized to continue. At the same time, I wanted to explore new things, confront my fears, get out of my comfort zone… which in part led me to modeling. I started to experiment with myself, occasionally working with friends and acquaintances when they needed a fitting model or someone to shoot with.
— One thing you never want to do again:
Pay rent.
— What are three interesting facts about you?
1. I grew up traveling through several countries in Asia, mainly Bahrain, Hong Kong, and Malaysia.
2. I’m a self-taught multifaceted artist. Last summer I had the pleasure to have my drawings in a group show for the first time.
3. I have a childlike curiosity. I’m very observant, I pay attention to the people, to the sounds, to the colors that surround me.
Donovan
Who:
Donovan Garcia (@donie.garcia) — 186 cm / 6’1″ — American from Castle Rock, Colorado, USA — born November 22nd — he/him.
Where:
FOGG Management (Denver – mother agency), Wilhelmina Denver
— One thing people may be surprised to find out about you:
I love exploring new places and being a part of nature. My friends and I always go to different areas and find various trails and different hiking spots. We just love the peacefulness and the beauty of just being around nature and not having all the distractions that we usually do.
— How did you become a model?
My mom was really the star of starting my modeling career. She is an educator and has made true connections with some of her former students. One such student who seemed to always be in trouble, she really connected with him. She saw something special in him and always tried to get him on his path. A path that would give him passion and joy. That student actually became an amazing photographer, and my mom was talking to him one day and showed him a picture of me and he said that he could see the amazing potential of me being a model. I’ve always wanted to be a model so when I heard this, I wanted to try it to see if I had what it takes to be one.
— What’s a story your family/friends like to tell about you?
When I had to jump in the water to catch a 6-foot lemon shark. We took a trip down to the Florida Keys and one night we went shark fishing on a dock. We ended up catching one but we had no way of getting it up on the dock to release it. One of us had to jump in the water and grab the shark by his back tail and hand it up to the people on the dock. I am always up for an adventure so I jumped into the water and got ahold of the shark and handed him up to my friends on the dock. It was quite scary but it was really cool to be right there with a shark.
Jonathan
Who:
Jonathan Azar (@jjonathanazar) — 186 cm / 6’1″ — Canadian from Toronto, Canada — born June 19th — he/him.
Where:
Elite Toronto (mother agency), VNY Models (New York)
— The most interesting thing about your family:
Being half Palestinian and half Italian, I would classify my simple family gatherings as a huge event. With that being said, I’m extremely grateful to be raised in a family with strong values that keep the tradition alive.
— What’s your most prized possession and why?
My collection of records. I’m always searching for cool/rare records that I’ll either hang on my wall or keep close by for quick listening.
— What are three interesting facts about you?
1. I competed provincially in gymnastics for 3 years.
2. I love pineapple on my pizza.
3. I enjoy listening to music from the ’60s.
Joy
Who:
Joy North (@joynorth_) — 181 cm / 5’11” — Brazilian from Cataguases, Minas Gerais, Brazil — born June 5th — she/her.
Where:
AN MODELS MGMT (mother agency)
— Who is someone you admire and why?
This is the easiest, I don’t need to go far to answer it — at 2 years old my parents separated and I went to live with my great-aunt, a black woman, and a teacher with the biggest heart in the world. She gave her life for me and for my sister to give us the best she could. It was always just the three of us. She is the person who stops making and buying for herself and cares more about others, the example of empathy and solidarity. The biggest inspiration of my life!
— An issue or cause you are passionate about?
I’m passionate about animals. Actually, at 17, I decided to become a vegetarian, because I thought it didn’t make sense for me to love puppies but eat pork. It was since then that I made my alliance, I literally wear a coconut ring as a symbol of my love not only for animals but for all nature, the World cries out for help and human beings continue to mistreat the home where they live.
— What are three interesting facts about you?
1. My love for music allows me to wake up and sleep listening to music 24/7. I attended a music conservatory to learn how to make music and play instruments like guitar, piano, and keyboard and I love to sing and act.
2. I graduated in Fashion Design because since I was little I loved making clothes for my dolls and drawing sketches and wrapping myself in fabrics that my grandmother sewed at home. I love learning and studying, so I wanted to find out more about everything that involved fashion before arriving on the catwalks.
3. I’ve always been a fuze child. The ultrasound showed that I would be a boy and… LOL, surprise! I came out a very energetic little girl, who played everything, jumped and ran a lot with her bare feet on the ground in the backyard, adventurous and who loves sports. I played basketball for some years.
Maja
Who:
Maja Tyszecka (@maja.ty) — 172 cm / 5’8″ — Polish from Warsaw, Poland — born October 18th — she/her.
Where:
ECManagement (Warsaw – mother agency), Blare Management (Barcelona), The Fashion Management (Berlin)
— The most interesting thing about your family:
All my family members are sports freaks. My father participated in the bike races and my grandfather has a black belt in Judo. I’m the black sheep of my family because I don’t even own a bike.
— An issue or cause you are passionate about:
I care about fighting and spreading awareness about modeling workers’ rights. There are issues that are still not talked about often enough. We need a platform that will allow our voices to be heard.
— What are three interesting facts about you?
1. I’m highly sensitive to colors which can be quite frustrating and makes matching outfits so much harder, but turns out to be useful in my photography work.
2. I’m a picky eater, that’s obsessed with the texture of food. Lately, it has been chewy candy and onigiri.
3. For the last two months I’ve been living with five cats.
Mariama
Who:
Mariama Musukebba Ndure (@mk.ndure) — 170 cm / 5’7″ — Gambian from Banjul, Gambia — born January 23rd — she/her.
Where:
IZAIO Management (Berlin – mother agency), Marilyn Agency (Paris), Wilhelmina London
— One thing people may be surprised to find out about you:
One thing people may be surprised to find out about me is that I came to Germany with my sisters on our own when we were children. We found a home in Berlin for refugees and had a guardian who took care of us at the beginning. And I am so blessed, that I was able to find my own apartment recently and can call Berlin my home.
— Your most embarrassing moment:
To be honest, I don’t really feel embarrassed pretty often. Most of the time I just kind of laugh it off, when something happens people may find it embarrassing. I am sometimes a little silly and goofy. But yeah, I can actually laugh about myself which makes it pretty easy to be outgoing.
— How did you become a model?
A photographer texted me last year on Instagram, asking if he can take some photos of me. I thought of trying it out. I was a little bit scared at the beginning, to be honest. And a little later my agency IZAIO discovered me on social media. So since last year I am with them and modeling full time besides school.