My Encounter with Stacey McKenzie

My Encounter with Stacey McKenzie

Stacey McKenzie is fierce, honey!  For those unfamiliar with Stacey, she is a Jamaican born, Canadian fashion model, runway coach and most recently a model coach and judge on the show Canada's Next Top Model.

After being told, early in her career, that she was too "distinctive" for the Canadian market, she moved to the Big Apple. She was immediately picked up by Elite Modeling Agency. During her first season, she modeled for top designers including Jean Paul Gaultier, Thierry Mugler and Christian Lacroix (to name a few). She also landed her first campaign with photographer Oliviero Toscani for Benetton. She also has worked for Alexander McQueen, Betsey Johnson, Tommy Hilfiger, Todd Oldham, and Michiko Koshino. Her magazine covers include Essence, Le Monde and Panache, as well as editorials in Vogue (US, Japan, Korea, Britain, Spain), Harper's Bazaar, Interview, Flare, Fashion, and Vibe.~from wikipedia

She is now hosting her own workshops entitled, "Walk This Way" (email WALKTHISWAYWORKSHOPS@GMAIL.COM for more info) If "you want to get started in the modeling industry, but don’t know where to begin and need some guidance; or you want to better your game in the business than the Walk This Way Workshops are just what you need! The workshops entail all aspects of the modeling industry including, Runway, and much much more!" (from http://staceymckenzie.com)

I first saw Stacey in Essence Magazine, in a bridal spread.  She intrigued me.  She was unlike the waif thin models of the day like Kate Moss, and Stacey had more "afro-centric" features than most of the models of color.  There were exceptions, like Alek Wek, but (in the name of honesty) most Black fashion models lack afro-centric features and some could pass for white on a good day(look at Pat Cleveland).  But lo and behold, here was Stacey McKenzie, fair with freckles, but with big lips (before they were cool) and to quote the Commodores she was a brick house!  Alas, high end fashion houses finally celebrated what we have celebrated for years. 

Furthermore, unlike some ditzy Black models I have come across, she embraced her looks and heritage in a way that gave big lipped, big butt women all over the world pride in their own hips, lips, and asses. In 2009, McKenzie returned to Toronto Fashion Week where she walked the runway exclusively for Xuly Bet in the Arise African Collective fashion show.  I told you she was fierce.

I encountered Stacey McKenzie at Caribana (in Toronto) in 1999 (or was it '98?).  They had a concert going on at lake Ontario and Mya was one of the acts (poor Mya was just starting out and they boo'ed her horrendously).  I was under one of the numerous beer tents (you only have to be 19 years old to drink in Canada...wink, wink) and in sauntered Stacey McKenzie.  She had a pretty white casual dress, with bohemian accessories and she looked like she was about 7 feet tall in a pair of wedges, all of the women in the tent were envious of.

As soon as Stacey walked in, she owned the room.  People were memorized by this amazon with freckles...and so was I.  I just stared at her, I just did not have any decorum about myself.  I couldn't muster any.  What seemed like an eternity (but was probably a minute) she finally made it to my corner of the tent.  The two guys that were harassing me and my best friend all day, stopped completely and turned their attention to Stacey (I could hardly blame them).  The background noise finally started to creep in my consciousness and I focused my attention back to my companion.  

"Do you know who that is?"

"Yeah!  The model from Essence"

"That's Stacey McKenzie"

No sooner than I got those words out of my mouth, I turned and I was face to face (well more like face to chest-I am only 5'4) with Stacey McKenzie.  She looked at me and said, in her deep, Canadian watered down patois, "I love your shoes!"

"Thanks" I stammered (I think I even blushed) and she sauntered on her merry way.  My friend said, "You know I really hate you right now."  (We didn't stay best friends for long.)

I had a great time at Caribana that year, I partied, drank, and partied some more...However, what made that trip so memorable was my encounter with a supermodel, whom I adored, who represented women who look like me...saying she liked my shoes.  

That  was my encounter with Stacey McKenzie.