Source: Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images / Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Name: Tricia Baptiste
IG:@__triciab
Agency: Les Fleurs Management / Major Models NY
Claim to Fame: Baptiste has appeared in runway shows and presentations at NYFW and editorials in Vogue, and Women’s Wear Daily.
Tricia Baptiste began practicing modeling as a teenybopper. “I was very much like a little girl walking around in my mom’s heels,” she told HelloBeautiful. “It was always been something I’ve wanted to do.”
The twenty-four year old said opportunities presented “a couple of times during high school but nothing ever stuck in terms of a contract.” With no ink labeling her career a success she did what many graduating seniors do – she headed to college.
There she met a few more near misses while studying “psychology and writing.”
Her junior year she walked in a runway show organized by the fashion department. “I did the senior fashion show,” she said. “And it was just a fun fashion show, but nothing beyond that.” She also briefly started a blog that eventually “fell off.”
“I went to Syracuse University and in my senior year I was approached by some agencies during study abroad in London, but then that didn’t stick either. So I came back home,” she continued.
The career she obtained through her education ultimately led her to the catwalk. “Working in PR, I ended up coming into contact with my current mother agent, and she is who got into contact with my agency major in New York,” said Baptiste.
“My first paid modeling gig was actually with my PR agency that I was working with. We had a client and their Courser brand actually hired me to shoot their launch campaign. So that was my first paid modeling gig,” she revealed.
“It was so funny. It was because it was my first modeling gig and because it was something I’ve wanted for so long, I just felt like it felt so aligned. I would say it just felt like I was meant to be doing this. It kind of reconfirmed that I wanted to be doing this and PR wasn’t what I wanted to do long-term and so it kind of redirected my focus, I would say, into modeling.”
The experience inspired her to return to preparing for her close-ups. “I started spending more time practicing my craft,” she said.
She stated that while “it’s important to know your angles” it is also “important to just be confident in yourself.”
Source: Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images / Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images
She went on to walk the runway for Erigo, and appear in presentations for Nicole Miller and Markarian. The latter, being a deconstructed show that sprinkled models throughout the crowd, placed her in contact with models she had admired for years including Marlee K Bell.
“That was kind of surreal because I was in the room with girls that I followed for, you know, I don’t even know how long and they were just like being so nice and welcoming. And I was like, this is just crazy being in the same space with girls that I’ve looked up to,” she said. “So that was pretty amazing.”
She remains a working model. “I have a couple of consistent clients now that I work with weekly. That’s been a blessing,”she said. Changes to the fashion week structure and the industry at large can add pressure to what is already a stressful job but Baptiste is determined to keep having as much fun as she did in her mommy’s shoes as a kid. “I’ve developed a very strong sense of self,” she said crediting her “support system, my mom, my family, and my friends,” with helping build that.
“I just know that even if I do get a million nos, I know that I’m meant to be doing this,” she continued. “I’ve just been trusting and just going with the flow. I don’t try to put too much pressure onto the things I’m doing because that can really lead to just overthinking and anxiety.”
She staves away anxiety on sets by getting lost in the pages of fantasy novels. “I usually bring a book with me,” she said.” I journal a lot too, so I either have my journal with me so I can just throw [down] whatever thoughts are coming into my head or anything I’m going to keep note of and keep track of, or I bring a book with me.”
Today she is focusing on enjoying the gigs she books.
“I try to just embrace it.”
DON’T MISS:
MODEL MONDAY: Beverly Sade Turned Agency Shade Into A TV Career
MODEL MONDAY: Renee Bhagwandeen Turned $200 And A Dream Into A Career As A Top Model
MODEL MONDAY: Glenda Robinson Got A Second Chance At The Runway
[ione_media_gallery id=”3486870″ overlay=”true”]
About the Author
