This story appears in the new issue of System magazine. We are publishing an excerpt of their incredible interview from creative director and editor-at-large Rana Toofanian and photographer Luca Khouri on the agency Saint International. Head here to purchase the issue and read the full story.
From his base in Kingston, Jamaica, Deiwght Peters has been key to the increased presence of Black models on catwalks, covers and campaigns. His agency Saint International is the biggest name in Afro-Caribbean modelling, with over 60 models under his stewardship, including Romaine Dixon, Kai Newman, and Christine Willis. Peters now works in every major market from Milan to Miami with the most prestigious houses, including Chanel, Prada, Burberry, Gucci and Celine. Eight models from Saint walked for Balenciaga’s Autumn/Winter 2018 runway show alone, and the agency has established a spirited alliance with LVMH Prize winning designer, Grace Wales Bonner.
Committed to his agency’s motto of ‘changing lives and expanding horizons’, Saint’s discoveries include Tevin Steele, a former coconut vendor from Port Antonio who debuted for Saint Laurent in 2017, and Lawrence, spotted on his way home from school, who in 2019 became the first Black cover star of Vogue Hommes. As the agency extends into new territories – the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Angola, Cameroon, South Africa, and France – System caught up with its founder to discuss his career, change, diversity, and the barriers Black models continue to face.
Rana Toofanian: Saint has been around for 20 years now. Can you look back and see a turning point for you and the agency? A moment when things really took off?
Deiwght Peters: In terms of big campaigns, it all started around six years ago. We had a model go to New York, and the agent called to send her back, saying, "The girl is too raw" and "The client thinks she is too green." I’ll never forget it. I had read about other girls who had started out the same way; girls who couldn’t speak "proper" English, but still went on to become superstars. Why would it be any different for her, as a Black model? From when I started out, I sensed that agencies might not always support a Black model and agent. I said, "Look, every once in a while a model comes along whose beauty transcends everything. This girl is going to be the one this season." He responded, "Do you really believe that?" And I said, "Yes. So much so that if you send her back to Jamaica, I am just going to put her on another plane back to New York, to another agency." Her test shoot came back two days later, and the same agent sent me the pictures. I wrote back, "Let me go further: she is going to be a Calvin Klein exclusive this season." So they sent her material over to Calvin Klein, and forwarded me the email from the casting director the next day, saying that she was one of the most stunning models they had ever seen, and they wanted the world exclusive.
Who was the model?
Kai Newman. I knew that she was remarkably shy, but I just trusted my gut. That was a turning point for me and my relationships with agents, in that a major brand backed up what I said would happen. In New York, Kai was booked by Calvin Klein, Rodarte, Marc Jacobs, Tommy Hilfiger. From then on, the agents became very supportive. She was so new that the stylists gave her flat shoes for some of the shows, even though most of the girls were in heels. I travelled with Kai in Europe for the entire season, and she would walk in heels to make sure she got it right. We went to see Gucci in Milan – at the time it was rare for a brand new face to be working the Gucci show – and she was booked in her very first season. By the time we got to Paris there was such an energy behind her. Everyone suddenly knew her; all the photographers, stylists, and casting directors were really into her. She became the hottest new face of that season. So I started using that approach for models who came after her, like Tami Williams.
Coming from an underexposed market, did you feel that agencies, brands and casting directors were always receptive? How did you decide which to work with?
You create these relationships based on trust and your respective understanding of the markets. The first agencies I started working with were Premier in London and Why Not in Milan. One of the first agents I worked with was Matteo Puglisi. We met in Milan when he was at Major Models, then he started Future Models, and he is now the global manager for Select. With hindsight, I believe that there were agencies who might not have wanted to sign a model from me because I was Black. Let’s be clear on that. I think there were also quite a few who were intrigued that I was from Jamaica. And others may have realized that I knew quite a bit, because I never walked into an agency unprepared. I understood early on what the industry expected and was amazingly organized for every meeting. That was part of how I think I broke through: agents saw that they didn’t have to style my models from scratch, that they were ready to go. I’d walk in with this massive portfolio full of names, heights, measurements, photographs, and each time they’d see a face, I had a package of Polaroids ready. Many of the agents I met said that in all their years, they’d never seen such an organized presentation. They knew I was serious, and that really worked in my favor. I had also launched a collaboration with one of the top television stations in Jamaica for a summer model search across the island, which documented me finding new faces in the ghettos, streets and rural areas. This was before America's Next Top Model. We did the show for about six or seven years and that helped project us into certain markets. British Airways was one of the show’s sponsors, and the prize-winners would often receive a return ticket to London, so agents knew that they didn’t have to invest to fly the models in.
Let’s go back a bit. Where did you grow up? What did you do before you started Saint?
I’m not from Kingston, originally; I moved here when I attended the University of the West Indies. Before that, I attended high school in my home parish, Clarendon, about a 30 minute drive from Kingston on the south coast. I did a bachelor’s in management, specializing in international marketing and business. Right out of university I started working for a dynamic young bank in Jamaica, where I stayed for five years as a management associate. I actually received three job offers after my graduation, but my parents insisted I go into banking. To be honest, it worked out well: my experience with finance has served me well in terms of how I make decisions and approach operations. You understand what works and what doesn’t, and how to be pragmatic in your decisions.
How did you transition from management associate to starting a modeling agency?
At the time of the financial meltdown in the Jamaican economy,2 I had already started managing a group of talented young male singers named Piano. They were like the Boyz II Men of Jamaica and did remarkably well. I took them from scratch and developed them into a marketable commodity: a highly stylized, well choreographed package. I called my talent company Saint. I was going through names, and I was in the bathroom and said to myself, "Perhaps I should just use part of my own name? You are named after Saint Peter. Why not just Saint?" Saint International. At that time, a few people in the modeling industry in Jamaica approached me about getting into the business, but I wasn’t interested. Then, at a talent convention in Florida for singers and models, I met Rodney Harris and his wife, who run an agency in Atlanta called Slamm Management. I had gone out to Florida for Piano, but I mentioned to Rodney that young women had approached me to manage them as models. He said, you seem to have a good eye and a passion and energy for what you do, so go for it! Rodney was instrumental in me pursuing model management.
After that trip, I continued to work with the group, but also took on a few girls to see if it was something I could do. I had to learn that, for models, images are everything! I had to orchestrate photo shoots and really understand styling, makeup and grooming. A year or so on, the young female faces I was representing had become more serious than my music act. I started getting models signed all across the world. I was one of the first agents to send models from Jamaica to South Africa. Years later, I had agencies in New York asking me how to break into the South African market, because they knew I had been sending a lot of my models there for development. I invested in visiting all the markets: London, New York, Paris, Miami, Milan, Chicago. I went everywhere! As I was managing young people, it was important for me to know who the people behind these agencies were. That was a major part of our success. At the end of the day, you have to report back to the parents; they want to know that this is going to be a safe environment for their son or daughter. That sense of trust is very, very important. We recently signed Selah McHail, this young dreadlocked boy who I cast for a Wales Bonner project. When I spoke to his parents initially, I said, "I think he is going to be a major star." His mother said one thing: "Deiwght, just allow him to complete school this year." I said, "Let’s get him started once he finishes school." The role you play as an agent is determined by how people view you as a person, and I’m perceived as a paternal figure.
I hear they call you "Pops."
Yes! I started working with these kids from Nigeria, and even they started saying it. The name just comes up! Look – I’ve had a fantastic life. I wasn’t a struggling boy from the countryside; my father was a businessman. I had a privileged life in Jamaica. I went to university. I had my own room. I never had to work until I left university. So I believe it is my responsibility to help kids who may not have had that background to get ahead in life. Many of them see this as a way out, as the ultimate opportunity. When I discovered Tevin Steele, he was a coconut vendor. I said, "I think I can make you a star," took his digitals and posted them online. The very next day, we heard from Saint Laurent. Within two months, we were being flown to Paris, where he made his debut. It was the biggest news in Jamaica, and a hugely inspirational moment. After that, old men would come up to me and tell me the story had them in tears. Those kinds of stories help define who we are as an agency, and my motivation as an agent. I live for that kind of story.
Your company motto is "changing lives and expanding horizons." I’ve always thought it amazing that you travel with your models. I’ve heard you give great pep talks!
I travel with them because I am aware that cultural differences can impact a model’s ultimate success, and I want to be the point of translation, if you will. The reality is that many people would never have looked at some of these young boys and girls as models. Here in Jamaica, some of them would even be described as "ugly." When they start modeling, I have to do a lot of work to bring up their confidence: ‘You are beautiful. You are great. You will do so well. Don’t worry about what anyone else thinks. It doesn’t matter where you are from, it’s about where you are going.’ That’s the amazing thing about ‘changing lives, expanding horizons’. Once they start traveling, once they start believing in themselves, that’s what happens. Being able to witness that transformation is amazing. A lot of my models are not just changing their own lives, but the lives of their families, too. Christine Willis’s mum passed shortly after she had debuted on a Balenciaga world exclusive, so before she started at university, she used her earnings to give her mum a wonderful sendoff. These young people were once made to think they were "lesser than;" through the experience of traveling and self-actualization, they now feel very confident.
How would you define a Saint model?
A Saint model is one who defines the times we’re in. They are very prepared, very sophisticated in terms of their aesthetic, but more than that, they are aware of their roles and responsibilities. For the most part, they are Black models, so they understand that they have got to get into the game in a serious way. They have to deliver consistently at a high level, and must always maintain their integrity.
