Back in 2019 we initiated a casting call for The Face of Beche 2020. A diverse group of men and women throughout the Turks and Caicos Islands vied for the title and a contracted opportunity to work with our brand for its latest campaign. To no surprise the beautiful Janaya Williams was casted and immediately began what was the biggest modelling opportunity of her life as the Face of Beche 2020.
This month, we had the opportunity to interview Janaya about her experience as being The Face of bēchë, where she divulged that being a model was not always something she was comfortable with. The casting process was one that was particularly new to her – especially because she had not yet gotten the hang of walking in heels. However, her ability to keep pushing was something that definitely set her apart.
As The Face of bēchë, Janaya has been featured in British Vogue – an experience that still has her at a loss for words. Stating, “up to now it hasn’t registered in my brain that that’s something I’ve done before the age of 25”. Nonetheless, it is more than evident at the pride she has in herself for such a shining moment. This has also reaffirmed for her that modelling is something that she would like to continue doing now that she’s moved to England. She even has photoshoots lined up already. Despite the pandemic woes, in addition to Vogue, Janaya has done numerous campaign collaborations (photo and video) with other brands with the Wellington Collection being one of her favourites.
During our interview, Janaya reminisced on the 5:30am call times for hair and makeup for a photoshoot and looked back on moments where she would research videos on how to pose as a model, just so she could get every shot right. Something that stood out to us in the interview was the growth and confidence she gained during the experience. Although she admits she’s still “working on self-love”, Janaya told us a story of when she was on a shoot and the reassurance that she got from bēchë’s team and the photographer truly helped her to get out of her head and just be her comfortable authentic herself. The recent photoshoot with Janaya just last month is evidence of her growth in the modelling space and has us excited for what is to come for her.
As someone who was once in the position, Janaya had a few words to say to future aspiring models who hope to become the next Face of bēchë: “Just do it like Nike, there’s literally nothing you can lose! You’ll either gain an experience or learn a lesson."
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