A high-schooler from Chestermere took the next step down the runway in his burgeoning modelling career in November, appearing as a model at the Calgary International Fashion and Arts Week (CIFAW) – the city's premier fashion-related show of the year.
Fifteen-year-old Trey Johnson is a Grade 10 student at St. Gabriel the Archangel School in Chestermere. He started modelling earlier this year for the Patti Falconer Agency, following in the footsteps of his older brother, who Johnson said also took up modelling when he was in his mid-teens.
“My parents brought it up as something my brother could try,” Johnson said. “He said sure – that was four years ago. From there, we stuck with the agency he was with. I got to the age where I was tall and old enough to do modelling. That was in February of this year, so that’s how it all got started.”
Johnson said his brother eventually shifted his focus toward acting, and is now freelancing as a background actor for film and TV productions.
Since signing on with Patti Falconer Agency last year, Johnson said he's enjoyed the opportunities modelling has presented, such as walking the runway at a fashion show in Edmonton.
He said the most fun aspect of modelling is the potential it brings for travel, as well as the chance to try on new outfits and clothing styles.
“You get to meet new people and hang out with your friends for the day,” he said. “That’s probably my biggest takeaway from it.”
The high-schooler said how much time he invests into modelling depends. “If you want to go all out, you have to have time on your hands because you could be going to California for four days, Vancouver for five, or Dubai for like a week and a half,” he added.
Last month, Johnson enjoyed a career highlight when he was one of the official runway models at the sixth annual CIFAW, which was hosted Nov. 19 at the Westin Calgary Airport Hotel. It's one of the biggest fashion-related events in Calgary of the year, attended by clothing designers from the Philippines, California, Vancouver, and other places who come to present their newest products.
“That was basically what it was – a fashion and arts week, which is really cool,” Johnson said. “We were prepping for that for about three months.”
Now that he has the experience of walking the runway at Calgary's premier fashion event, Johnson said his next hope is to get the chance to model internationally – he noted Dubai, Paris, or somewhere in Colombia are on his wish list.
That being said, he touted the bright future of modelling and fashion in the Calgary region, arguing that the growth of the film industry in Alberta will likely bring with it more modelling opportunities as well.
“I think Calgary’s modelling scene is OK,” he said. “I believe in the future, it will probably become more like Vancouver. Calgary could maybe one day be the Hollywood of Canada, with all the movies that are filming around here.”
