From criminal to catwalk
CONVICT JEREMY Meeks has landed a modelling contract from prison in what appears to be a rather unusual way of getting scouted for a modelling career.
The 30-year-old looked so photogenic in his mugshot that it earned him millions of admirers worldwide and so White Cross Management talent agency has recognised his potential. Striking a blue steel pose, he showcases his chiselled jawline, razor sharp cheekbones and baby-blue eyes in the image.
Being recruited from jail to become a fashion model is indeed one of the rarest ways of doing so; if not the first and only time it’s happened. Being in prison it seems, is no barrier to a potential fashion career.
Meeks' scouting is a more extreme example of the sometimes unusual places new faces have been discovered.
Kate Moss, Britain’s supermodel since the nineties, was discovered at the age of 14 by CEO of Storm Model Management agency, Sarah Doukas, at JFK Airport in New York.
Also, while on holiday in Cape Town, South Africa, Doukas discovered Victoria’s Secret Angel Behati Prinsloo.
Candice Swanepoel was discovered when she was shopping at a local flea market with her mother and Claudia Schiffer was discovered at a nightclub in Dusseldorf, Germany.
According to Lanny Venga, scout for One Management, McDonald’s has become the hotspot for fresh model talent. Likewise are high-street fashion shops such as H&M, Urban Outfitters and Zara, as well as “touristy areas”.
Jourdan Dunn, for example, was discovered in Hammersmith Primark in 2006.
Zenga told Fashionista in 2013 that other good places to scout are music festivals and concerts, and that the best new model talent is in Europe, particularly in Denmark and the Scandinavian countries. “When I went there a couple of months ago every girl on the street was scoutable,” he said. But besides unusual places, some other unique personalities, with no fashion background, have landed big gigs in the industry. Take Conchita Wurst as an example, the drag queen and winner of Eurovision 2014, who appeared at Jean Paul Gaultier’s haute couture show and on a CR Fashion Book photoshoot by Karl Lagerfeld. Meeks is another unique example. He is currently serving two years for felony possession of a firearm, but with the chance of an early release in November, the Californian hopes that the modelling career will change his fortune.
“I'm in a place where I will be able to provide for my family and really change my life,” the Californian told ABC News.
Don’t be surprised if you spot him in high-end fashion campaigns next year.