British-Jamaican model Reece Nelson attracts Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, Versace, and Gucci

Luxury fashion houses love Reece Nelson.

Be it Burberry or Versace, the British-Jamaican model’s impressive run of high-profile bookings continues. He is among the models selected by Dolce & Gabbana (D&G) for its new men’s global advertising campaign.

“It’s always been on my bucket list to tick off a campaign of that calibre,” admits the 23-year-old stunner, born to a mother from St Catherine and a father who hails from Trelawny.

“The fact that it’s for an Italian fashion house with so much history was definitely a special moment for me,” Nelson shares of D&G’s luxe Fall/Winter 2026 campaign, photographed by legendary photographer Steven Meisel.

Having travelled to New York over the summer for the shoot, Nelson speaks highly of his experience alongside model peers Kit Butler, Akbar Shamji, Kilian Zeugin and uber-hot South Korean singer San.

Working with a crew of his industry’s elite that included stylist Karl Templer, hairstylist Guido Palau and make-up artist and fellow British-Jamaican Pat McGrath, Nelson says, “It was a perfect team, and I was very comfortable. Sometimes the vibes aren’t always the best energy on a set, but Mr Meisel and his team were lovely. Then, seeing the finished images, oh my word, I was stunned.”

Dolce & Gabbana is the latest coup for Nelson.

Scouted at 16 as he went about his day on the streets of South London, Nelson made his modelling debut in 2019 for Burberry’s Spring/Summer 2020 Ready-To-Wear collection.

Naturally, the memory of that first runway walk remains as vivid as ever.

“I remember being backstage. Obviously there’s a lot of hair spraying in the air, and my eyes were burning,” he recounts of the behind-the-scenes action of then Chief Creative Officer Riccardo Tisci’s collection show.

“If I had blinked, water would have run down my eyes. I was so nervous, and, to make it worse, when I was walking, that’s when the bass dropped, so I am feeling ‘dum dum dum dum’ in my chest. When I replayed the video, I walked a little bit too fast. It’s not my best walk, but it’s an experience I loved.”

High-end brands have returned the love.

Nelson’s distinctive, asymmetrical features have made him a familiar face in Burberry’s lookbooks, advertising campaigns and runway shows, spanning the tenures of two chief creative officers.

Emporio Armani, Gucci and Versace have booked him, too, for advertising campaigns. Editorials aplenty — with major-name glossies Vogue, i-D, Esquire and GQ, among an exhaustive list — are liberally sprinkled across his portfolio.

Like the best model success stories, where the road has led sometimes reveals the topsy-turvy beginnings.

Nelson initially had a sports-aligned career in mind. An injury, however, sidelined the college track-and-field devotee around the time model agents Daniella and Xenia approached him.

“I would have wished to be a track star. But, realistically, I was under the domain of sports in college when I got scouted. I was studying sports and exercise science. I was planning on being a nutritionist or taking part in sports physiotherapy.”

Modelling had never been a thought for the teenage 200-metre runner and high jumper.

“I said, ‘You know what? It’s time for a young boy to start making money’,” he reflects on the life-altering encounter after his torn right adductor gave him reason to rethink his plans.

“It’s been seven years now, and I have learnt so much; I have made modelling become my interest.”

Being part of the lightning-fast, billion-dollar fashion industry has afforded him prized lessons along the way.

“It’s taught me to always put God first, no matter what,” says Nelson. “You know how it goes for a young, black boy not growing up in the best of positions. We grow up with struggle. I would never have thought that I would still be relevant in the modelling industry today, but the fact that I am, I have to give thanks,” the model tells Sunday Lifestyle on a weekday afternoon Zoom from across the pond.

Nelson and his twin sister, Rehana, were raised in the Pentecostal faith. Their father is an engineer with Network Rail, while their mother works as an office administrator for a bus company.

The British-born twins’ parents migrated to the United Kingdom from The Rock three decades earlier. Long now separated, their parents count an additional four daughters and three sons among an extended brood.

Coming of age in the biz, the 6-foot-3-inch-tall stunner — signed to his mother agency Twelve Mgmt in London and IMG Models in Paris and Milan — says “it’s definitely taught me to manage my money, because I never grew up around that sort of wealth. It’s taught me to keep my head level-minded, stay humble and make sure you put your money down.”

This, he explains, is necessitated because “as a model, I am not getting paid unless paid work comes in. I could have a season where it’s just editorials and lots of magazines, and they don’t pay.”

On the flip side, he points out that campaigns, lookbooks and runway are the actual income-generators.

“It’s taught me to budget. If I’m getting paid this month, I’ll put money aside because, a couple months later, I don’t get paid, but at least I’m cool and budgeted.”

Another valuable takeaway he cops to having learnt is the importance of professionalism.

“As the job is sporadic, I don’t know when I am going to be working, so I have to maintain a certain look,” shares Nelson, a gym disciple and weekend football player.

“Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I might not trim because I am tired and will let the skin breathe, but modelling makes me maintain my physical appearance.”

He also fully understands the meaning of showing up to work, even when the ideal circumstances might not be present.

“Sometimes I might not be able to get my full amount of rest, or I’m not feeling 100 per cent. But the moment I step on set, I have to be the energy,” he rationalises. “Being able to switch and turn that professionalism on has taught me to be a lot more effective.”

For Nelson, who discovered a passion for the piano during the COVID lockdowns with self-taught sessions, he succinctly sums up the travel benefits and celebrity run-ins his job often entails.

“It’s really just another day at work. A lot of times I was going on shoots and didn’t know the famous people. My agent would say, ‘Just a heads up, this person is going to be on set today’, and I would try to do my little research. But then, it got to a point where I said, ‘I don’t even know this’. For celebrities, sometimes they rather you don’t even know them, because the conversation is better.”

He recalls his Versace campaign shoot in Milan as a 19-year-old with a stark contrast.

“Donatella was on set. Being surrounded by these people who lead these brands sometimes feels surreal. But she was very cool, no issues whatsoever. She is Donatella,” he says smilingly.

With his last visit to Jamaica more than a year ago, he’s eager to rekindle the connection.

“Listen, it’s a shame I’m not born on the soil. I have a whole heap of family still a yard,” Nelson discloses, breaking into Patois. “I plan to go back in Christmas, next year, for a family reunion.”

Top of the itinerary is staying with family in Old Harbour, St Catherine.

“I would rather not stay in a hotel or an Airbnb. I prefer being with my family and live the real life. I love the river; that’s the first place I will be going to,” he shares.

“Usually when my family comes around, we get the drum pan, and we cook up something, hold a medz and just vibe,” he further details.

There is an unfettered zeal for Jamaican cuisine as he speaks of what he loves most on his plate.

“I love my chicken, curried, jerk, brown stewed, fried, the whole shebang. You can’t beat Jamaican food. I actually have some marinated chicken in my fridge right now that I need to curry and cook,” he tells The Sunday Gleaner.

He is also a huge fan of ackee.

“Is it dear over there?” Nelson asks about the price on The Rock. “Over here it’s 10 pounds for a tin.”

Musing about future moves, Nelson says the acting world is on his radar.

“I have had film and television scripts sent over by my agent, and I have rehearsed for castings,” he reveals, citing prolific action stars Jason Statham and Jet Li as his two big-screen favourites.

As to why he wants to explore being a thespian, the model explains, “It is out of my comfort zone, and I want to try something new. I have been on campaigns where I might have a script where I’m talking in the background, or just a few lines to say. Those jobs are always more interesting than just standing in front of the camera and taking a picture.”

Also under consideration is entrepreneurship.

“I am also thinking of getting into real estate and not just the business side, but being the one who gets in there to rip out the floorboards and redecorate the house entirely.”

Such imagined realities are pretty pictures Nelson could very well see himself living out.

lifestyle@gleanerjm.com