Student nurse making bold fashion moves

Never in her wildest dreams did nursing student Sabrina Nugent imagine she would be on a cover of a groundbreaking international fashion magazine.

But Nugent is now a cover girl for the history-making premiere issue of Black Fashion Fair, a major publication spotlighting all-black design and artistic talent globally.

Nugent not only fronts one of the magazine's four covers, she also appears in two separate editorials inside the issue, shot by Jamaican photographers Destinee Condison in Portland and Amber Pinkerton in St Ann.

"The first time I saw the cover, I was in so much awe," Nugent told THE STAR in an exclusive interview. "I spent the whole day going back to look at the photos. It is a very humbling experience seeing yourself on a cover." Signed to Jamaican modelling agency SAINT International, the 20-year-old presently attends nursing school, while maintaining a day job at a Half-Way Tree fashion retail store.

Her global fashion potential was spotted by SAINT CEO Deiwght Peters at her alma mater, Tarrant High School, during one of his routine high school searches.

"I was discovered in fifth form at school in 2019. I remembered that day like it was yesterday. I was so scared to try out, but a friend of mine pushed me to do it; and here I am now," Nugent said. Her beauty has been captured in glamorous high-profile international magazines such as British Vogue and i-D which focused their lens on the next generation of SAINT stars, with locally shot photo shoots in Kingston. The lanky Nugent points to legendary British-Jamaican supermodel Naomi Campbell as a professional idol. She told THE STAR, "I love, love, love Naomi. Before my modelling career even began, I was, and still am, obsessed with her runway videos on YouTube."

Campbell, for her, represents the gold standard of achievements. Pressing ahead, Nugent, however has her own to-do list that she wishes to check off.

"I want to become the best that I can be. They say the sky is limit, but I want to pass the sky," she said. "Most of all, though, what I truly want to accomplish is financial stability and to become an inspiration for others."

The third of four children for her engineer father and nurse mother, in-between juggling classes at school and dealing with customers at her retail job, Nugent is still savouring her big breakthrough. Reflecting on the cover shoot done in Ocho Rios late last year with Pinkerton, Nugent described it as "amazing".

"From start to finish everything went smoothly, and the vibes was right," she recalled. "Amber was very caring and constantly asked if I was comfortable or not, and I appreciated her concern. The most enjoyable shots were at the river. I will not forget the laughter everyone on set had there. If you guys knew the story behind those amazing pictures, trust and believe, you would be laughing too."