SAINT’s Breana Carson is a Gucci girl

SAINT International beauty Breana Carson has joined the Gucci family.

The Jamaican is one of the faces for the Generation Gucci Spring 2026 global advertising campaign that landed last Thursday.

Lensed in Milan by the Italian luxury brand’s artistic director, Demna Gvasalia, the lookbook-style campaign features Carson among 84 images that pull from different archival eras of the House of Gucci.

“Being part of such a legacy really showed me how far I’ve come and how powerful representation is,” the 23-year-old model-on-the-rise remarked to Sunday Lifestyle of notching a significant fashion first. “I’m totally humbled and so honoured right now.”

Carson was particularly ecstatic to have worked with Demna, the former Balenciaga creative director who was appointed in March 2025 to assume the creative reins of Gucci. Carson waxed lyrically about the experience.

“I was beyond happy to shoot with the super-talented team led by Demna as he charts a new vision for Gucci. I feel very grateful to be selected as part of this fresh outlook. I’m excited about the future and hope to work with him again.”

The Cumberland High School graduate shared that sitting for glam portraiture under Gvasalia’s guidance held invaluable lessons.

“His vision really brought out a powerful side of me on set. He knows exactly what he wants and pays keen attention to every detail. He cares a lot about his models and makes you feel very special. I truly loved that,” Carson said of the designer.

Gvasalia’s 10-year tenure at Balenciaga brought culture-shifting, idiosyncratic fashion into the mainstream with headline-making moments and such celebrity devotees as Kim Kardashian, Cardi B, Rihanna, and Nicole Kidman.

For his new Generation Gucci collection, Gvasalia steers towards more clear-cut looks and fewer maximalist outfits that the Gucci brand has become known for in recent times. Leaning into underwear-inspired garments and minimal gowns in jersey and silk chiffon, the co-ed, 84-look collection pulls from different archival eras of the European luxury house that was founded by Guccio Gucci in 1921 in Florence, Italy.

The decade-long run of American fashion designer Tom Ford as Gucci’s creative director from 1994 to 2004 serves as a major influence for Gvasalia.

Generation Gucci landed last December in a surprise drop that also took the form of a lookbook collection. The then-released images reflected a 1990s-inspired runway show that never happened. The newest installation of Gvasalia’s campaign deepens the exploration of archival styles.

Now a face defining the brand’s visual rebirth, Carson was proposed for and inevitably booked the high-profile Gucci job under the wings of SAINT’s chief executive officer Deiwght Peters last summer.

“Getting to the confirmation was quite a process,” he told Sunday Lifestyle of the waiting period once he had pitched Carson. “I was submitting updated Polaroids from here in Kingston and working with her management team in Milan to ensure the right image is provided. For the last set of digitals submitted, I understood the brief, styled Breana myself, took the photos, and sent them off feeling very confident. It’s a major milestone for SAINT International, the agency founded 26 years ago, that has fielded campaigns for Balmain, Dior, Valentino, Miu Miu, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, and Calvin Klein.

Peters is assured that the Gucci get is a signal that even bigger is on the horizon for his super-hot model charge.

“Breana’s strong facial features and strong jawline can see her uniquely swing from conventional beauty to powerful and inspiring androgyny,” he assessed of her chameleon-like assets.

“She is hilarious and very compassionate and always has a good vibe about her. She is also very enthusiastic about her job and all things fashion, which I think will help with her success.”

Carson won SAINT’s Female Fashion Face of the Caribbean title back in March 2017 at age 14. She is the second SAINT model to appear in a Gucci advertising blitz.

Haytal Blackwood co-starred in the fashion house’s Fall/Winter 2018 campaign when current Valentino creative director Alessandro Michele was design lead at Gucci.

The brand’s Milan Fashion Week-based runway shows have also seen SAINT stars Winston Lawrence, Naki Depass, and Tami Williams all booked for catwalk duties over the years.

lifestyle@gleanerjm.com