Statement Modelz

A Student Org with an Entrepreneurial Approach

By, Marie Kamara

This group of immensely talented and creative individuals is more than just a student-led organization here at Virginia Commonwealth University, they are a group that has reached such monumental successes that no other modeling troupe, held in a university, has ever reached! Statement Modelz was formulated back in Spring 2022. According to their Instagram Page, they provide “an inclusive space for Print & Runway Modeling.” They participate in runway shows and host several photoshoots in order to properly train and build each model’s portfolio. The overall goal is to prepare them for industry standards and to “make a real STATEMENT in the modeling world.”

We got the opportunity to speak with the president and executive producer of Statement Modelz, Kayla Marie. Miss Kayla Marie tells us about how she formulated this group in an effort to bring the culture of an all-Black Modeling troupe while being “Those Gworls” that hold weight on their PWIs campus! From their debut shoots and visuals of “Statement Class of 2022”, to “Ghetto Visionary”, to being showcased in a spread for a nationwide magazine, to their latest Halloween-inspired project “Killer Kickback,” and so much more! The troupe has grown to become more inclusive, more daring, and even bolder than ever before. Miss Kayla Marie was kind enough to give us just enough insight on what exactly Statement Modelz is, where it came from, and what it hopes to become.

What is Statement Modelz?

Started as a modeling troupe and fashion organization that highlighted Black Creativity, Black Culture, and Black Art and has now shifted into (But of course never neglecting Black Creativity) highlighting local VCU and Richmond talent. This platform really pushes those individuals within the group that has a chance to make it big with their face cards and their talent. They are a modeling and fashion organization that uses its platform to push local creativity and make big art.

What is the creative process for your shoots?

“Randomly” and “one-word ideas,” Kayla mentions. With a group like this, they find that coming up with styles, ideas, and visions, is so simple because they feed off of each other’s creativity. Taking simple ideas and enlarging them to their fullest capacity, going beyond that, and then adding some twists

What

are the challenges that have been faced?

With the number of things that Statement Modelz have accomplished and not to mention its impressive execution, they are still “very much new to this and people do not realize that regardless of the amount of traction, views, followers, etc, they’ve only been doing this for about 6 months” Kayla states. They are still very much new to the game, they still have a lot of growing to do, a lot to try, and figure out on their own. They are very grateful for the positive feedback they have received but they were also not prepared to reach success and it doesn’t seem like it’ll stop anytime soon!

Do you have faith in the path that you are on?

Yes, although as a creative there is that slight hesitation on whether or not their creative attributes will take them all the way. However, with the constant validation that they have received and the number of accomplishments that have come along with them, there is no doubt that they will continue to be successful.

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