Kelsey Merritt: ‘Every girl’s dream is to be part of the Bench family’
You could say Filipino-American model Kelsey Merritt was fated to fill her current role: that of the new face of Kashieca. “Growing up I’d see these billboards of Kashieca and every girl’s dream is to be part of the Bench family, so when they offered, I was like, no way! Right now it’s still surreal, like I passed by the billboard once and, like, I can’t believe that’s me. ( Laughs) It’s crazy!”
Kelsey, 19, hails from Angeles, Pampanga, and describes her current modeling status as “complicated” — you see, she was recently signed by Wilhelmina Models in New York, so technically she’s based in NYC but has a year and a half to go before earning an AB Communications (major in Advertising and PR) degree at Ateneo.
“So I’m finishing school and every break I get, go back to New York,” she explains.
The catwalks of New York are a long way from her first photo shoot, for a local designer in Pampanga. Kashieca caught Kelsey at exactly the right moment: on the cusp of supermodel-dom.
What are your favorite pieces from the collection?
Mostly the black ones. These (the outfit she’s wearing) are really cute, that’s why this is the one I chose. You know, there are really nice ones that I shot with for the campaign. The dresses — the printed floral ones — are really nice.
How do you like to style them on yourself?
I actually mostly dress in black and white, so I picked the black one because it’s more my style. When I go to the beach I like to dress with prints and florals.
How would you describe your style?
You know, it really changed when I went to New York because at castings they have a certain uniform; like, you have to wear black, white or gray. So it all revolved around that. Everything, my outfit now, like I did a redo, and I removed all my printed and colored Filipino-American model Kelsey Merritt shuttles between the Philippines and New York, where she’s signed with Wilhelmina Models. clothes and replaced it with black and white stuff. So it’s mostly structured, basic tees, pants, just basic casting clothes.
How did you get signed with Wilhelmina in New York?
BJ Pascual, the photographer here, we wanted to schedule a shoot. At that time I didn’t have good pictures of myself, like, that could really do justice. For some reason we’d never find the right time. We finally found a date and shot. The day after, he uploaded the pictures on his Instagram account. Funny thing is, the same day that he uploaded the pictures was the same day that the director of my agency in New York followed him on Instagram. So the first thing he saw was my pictures. So if (the shoot hadn’t been) delayed, my pictures would have been under and he wouldn’t have seen it. But it just so happened that my pictures were on top, so it was really coincidence and good luck. So you look at my Instagram and my email was there. Thank God my email was there! So now I know not to take it out, because it’s gotten me to New York. And then they emailed me. I was in Pampanga one Sunday morning just doing my paper, and suddenly, the ping goes, and the subject is “Wilhelmina Models,” and I’m like, what? They were, like, “We saw your pictures and we’d love to have you here. When can you come here?” Wow!
Who are your style icons?
Honestly? Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner. They are the definition of what I want to be, style-wise.
What are some of your beauty secrets?
I do skincare every night before I sleep, so it consists of a lot: I have serum for the face, serum for the eyes, moisturizer, toner… everything! So when I sleep, it’s super kapal ( laughs). I make sure it doesn’t touch my pillow so it doesn’t go away.
What are your makeup essentials?
I don’t like wearing makeup because I already wear makeup when I work, so on resting days when I don’t work, I keep it fresh so my skin can breathe.
How do you keep fit?
I go boxing and mostly work on toning my abs and glutes.
How do you define a beautiful woman today?
A beautiful woman is a woman who knows she’s beautiful. Like, it radiates when you know you’re beautiful, it just shows, like, people see it.
How do you embody the qualities of the Kashieca girl?
The Kashieca girl is very chic, very “Ka-chic-a,” I was joking with Ben Chan about that. It’s very fun, very flirty, very me, Liza (Soberano) and Bea (Alonzo). It’s also nice to be part of the three girls because they’re amazing.
Are you fond of taking selfies?
No, I’m not. Really, I’m not. After all the shoots I’m going to take a photo pa of myself? It’s too much na.
What’s your favorite form of social media?
I love Instagram. It challenges your creativity. Since you share photos, you’d want nice photos. I love taking photos, like lifestyle, fashion… anything nice.
Finish the sentence: I feel most beautiful when…
I’m not wearing any makeup.