Jessa Brown claims she had never even taken the Go Train from her hometown to Toronto when, a chance encounter with Sutherland Models Agency Director Carole Reynolds, led to her walking the runways of New York and Paris.
After meeting Reynolds during a weekend water park getaway at Great Wolf Lodge, the striking 5’11” brunette high school student decided to try her hand, or rather her feet, at strutting in couture. “I thought she was absolutely beautiful, the type of model who could shoot the biggest campaigns in the world,” says Reynolds, though the agency head was not alone in her opinion.
Jessa quickly began to work for top Canadian fashion magazines including Flare and Elle Canada. She was signed to agencies in New York, Paris and Milan, and has walked for the likes of Givenchy, Miu Miu, Ellie Saab and Balenciaga to just name a few. But of course, Jessa counts her favourite designer to be homegrown talent Lucian Matis and her choice model to be Linda Evangelista.
Given that she’s still in school, Jessa has been able to balance her studies in Grade 11 with travelling around the world to model. While her friends spent the Victoria Day Weekend in Collingwood, Jessa was in Monaco to model for Dior, followed by a quick trip to Shanghai to walk the runway for Hugo Boss. Still, she doesn’t forget where she comes from and, despite the glitz and glamour of the industry, told Vogue, “I’m a girly girl but also have a tom boy sick and love sport.” You can take the girl out of Pickering…
