New York-based newcomer Jazzelle — yes, that’s her full name, and no, it’s not Gisele — started modeling in Detroit when she was about 15 after her braces came off, though she’d been involved with a local talent agency since she was 11. “I moved to Chicago when I was 17 to do commercial modeling work. It was miserable and I hated it completely,” she said. Instead, she became enthralled by the nightlife scene there, working as a performance artist and drag queen, and her persona ultimately became “too controversial” for the agency, which dropped her as a result. Luckily, her Instagram account — and her bleached, shaved head and eyebrows — caught the attention of British photographer and Showstudio founder Nick Knight, and
the rest is history.
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Let’s start at the beginning…
My dad’s black and my mom is Austrian and German. Modeling seemed so glamorous when I was a kid, it was like wanting to be a princess.…I started working sporadically, but I didn’t get a lot of work at all. It was a little bit of money, but not too big of a deal.
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And ultimately, commercial modeling didn’t suit you. How did you start working with Nick Knight?
I noticed that Nick had been “liking” my photos on Instagram. He direct-messaged me a few hours later and said he’d love to collaborate with me. I thought it was a distant dream at the time. I was like, “Oh my God, he’s so big and I’m absolutely no one in the fashion industry.” But a week or two later, he flew me out to London to shoot this really big spread for Another Magazine — I wore all Comme des Garçons. I never thought it would happen to me.
And Nick also helped you get signed to an agency in New York.
I was planning to move to New York anyway to get out of Chicago….[After the shoot in London,] I hit up Nick and asked him, “Who will accept what I look like now, and be accepting of the nightlife stuff that I do?”
You’ve since been featured in editorials for V Magazine, Purple, Garage Magazine, Nylon and several others, as well as walked the runway for Public School, Baja East…
I feel so, so, so lucky. It’s been a whirlwind. I already know how hard it is for girls. It’s a cutthroat, competitive industry.…It’s work, but I’m lucky enough that it doesn’t feel like work for me.
And you’re still active in the nightlife/drag scene.
Nightlife is an outlet for me to get out creatively, but also to support myself.
What are some of your long-term goals?
Even if I didn’t make it anywhere past where I am now, I feel like I’ve accomplished my dreams.…Before, my parents were looking at me like, “What are you doing with your life?” But they’re a lot more supportive now. I want to make enough money to invest in something.…I’d love to just support myself and help my family out.