Hants teen living out fashion dream

It took drive, passion, courage and determination for one teen to begin living out a dream.

Myles Sexton said he was turned down many times within the modeling agency before he was discovered by Strut International Model and Talent Agency and was selected to model for the Atlantic Canada’s Fashion Week Runway Gala Event in Dartmouth Sept. 12.

It’s discouraging to be called too skinny or not muscular enough, but it’s important to fight for dreams, Sexton said. “If you’re really passionate you just have to keep going.

“Because if you’re not doing something you love then you’re never really going to like your job,” Sexton said. “I’ve always wanted to get into the fashion industry… It’s fun.”

However, the industry entails hard work, too, because there’s a lot of learning to deal with proper posing, runway walking and taking critique, Sexton said. “The job is so complex.”

It can be difficult to take criticism and to separate work life from personal life sometimes, but it’s vital to keep in mind people have different views, which need to be respected, Sexton said. “It’s one preference to another… Some will accept you and some won’t.

“I’m openly gay but it took me so many years to even be able to fully accept myself,” Sexton said. “It was so many year of my life that I thought I had to hide within myself.

“Coming from a small town (Brooklyn), I just wanted to leave, but now I look at this as my home,” Sexton said. “I want them to see me… I want to make these people proud.”

Tonette Sexton, Myles’ mother, said it makes her happy to see her son looking so good. “His success has made him a much more happy person… I hope his dreams come true.

“I’ve always told him you’ve got to follow your heart,” she added.

Strut International spokesperson Linda Buchanan said Sexton was acknowledged because he had an appearance that can work within the international modeling market.

“The goal was providing designers, models, photographers and local experts in the industry with benefits from Atlantic Canada’s Fashion Week and to also play on an even field with the rest of Canada,” Buchanan said. “We are elevating our fashion industry…”

This event has taken over a year to evolve, but finally it’s coming to fruition with upwards of 22 stores involved, including LeChateau and West 49 as national clients, along with other local boutiques and designers, Buchanan added. “We also launched L’Image Fashion Magazine in support of the growing fashion industry within Atlantic Canada.”