MANILA, Philippines - No matter how good you do your job, there will always be people who will not be happy. Solution? Just do it better. That’s Jonas Gaffud’s motto at work and in life. Who’s Jonas Gaffud, you might ask? Dear readers, Supreme has always kept the doors wide open for you to get to know the industry — its players, major movers, even shock shakers. We blur the lines so you know whom you need to know to make it. Jonas Gaffud is the model maker of the moment. His company Mercator Models handles some of the hottest names in fashion that have crossed over to entertainment. The Brapanese wave (yes, I meant Akihiro Sato, Daniel Matsunaga, and Fabio Ide), nay, invasion — was kickstarted by this humble and admirable man and he continues to blaze the trail.
How? In a pool where “model” has begun to become synonymous with Brazilian, Mercator, now celebrating its sixth year, is introducing the next course. “Our anniversary is a timely opportunity to emphasize its commitment to develop and promote Filipino models,” says Jonas over light drinks outside Izakaya as he brought out his new homegrown stable. Spotlight on the new Mercator “it” boy trio Henrique Soriano, Geron Lontoc and Mikael Daez.
Henrique Soriano currently flies in and out of Manila to hop around the region doing TVCs and print ads. “His look is global Asian which is in high demand,” explains Jonas about Henrique, who only started modeling last year. This water sports aficionado is unstoppable in Singapore (the next Rocky Salumbides?), doing campaigns and rocking the runway.
Hardly a newbie in the industry, Geron Lontoc’s first runway experience was at the young age of 10. From then on, he would be tapped for modeling gigs, but it was only barely a year ago that he seriously took on the business under the wings of Mercator. A natural charmer, Geron, a former junior varsity basketball player, aims to be a “commercial magnet,” as model talk would have it. Blue Steel, get ready to be reinvented.
From Blue Steel, we have a Blue Eagle — Mikael Daez, a fresh graduate of Ateneo de Manila University, rounds up Mercator’s triple punch of exciting bets to conquer the fashion and commercial scene. One look at Mikael’s chiseled features, contrasted with his fine upbringing, and you know that this guy has it. Mikael hopes to boost his presence in the industry by being more visible in the local scene and then eventually try international modeling. We think he can conquer both.
Here, served on a Supreme silver platter, are Henrique, Geron, and Mikael. Welcome the new top three.