Also occupying the covers of the best magazines, Ambar Cristal, Hiandra Martinez, Lineisy Montero, Luisana Gonzalez are some of the names that rub shoulders on the big fashion catwalks wearing the new of the great designers. What do they have in common? They were born in the Dominican Republic and, as a modeling machine, this country is back in the modeling limelight with the emergence of Daniel Morel.
Fashion capitals like Milan, Paris and New York already have him in their sights thanks to the vision of Sandro Guzman, who has an expert eye for recruiting young people he knows will be very successful abroad.
Where did he come from?
Daniel Morel is 19 years old, 1.88 m tall, and comes from one of the poorest villages in the country. He was born in El limón, a municipal district located about 28 km north of the head municipality of the province of Samaná. It is bordered by Morón Beach, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
Already in his first season he was hired by Valentino, Dior, Givenchy, Hermès, Louis Vuitton and other prestigious brands. “The truth is that I don’t believe anything that is happening to me. I never imagined this would be so magical. Now I feel like this is my world,” Morel told People en Español about her first experience in Paris and Milan.
“When I walked my first runway show for Versace, there were a lot of photographers outside and they wouldn’t let me walk. That’s when I could understand what was happening to me. I had never taken a plane and arriving in Milan for the first time straight to a clothes fitting, looking for the address and going alone to the agency without knowing English, I entrusted myself to God and everything has been a success. Day by day good news. It is something divine.
The young man’s father is a farmer and his mother is a housewife. His family has lived in the midst of absolute poverty, but now he tastes success and is emerging as a great promise in the world of fashion.
“A photographer who was in Samaná sent me a photo and I thought it was retouched. (Then) Daniel wrote me and I asked him to take a picture outside his house with natural light. (It was) when I could see the good skin and that sculpted body,” Guzman told exclusively to the same publication.
Had it not been for those images, Morel might not have left the island, but today life is smiling on him – and so is he. He has now signed with one of the best modeling agencies, Next Models, and became the first Dominican to walk for fashion houses such as Valentino and Dior, among others.
“He is very poor. I told him, bring what you can of clothes, the rest we bought in the capital. He brought two jeans, two flannels (T-shirts), a shirt and some very battered tennis shoes. We went out and bought her all the changes for the castings and put together all her looks for Europe,” Guzman confessed.
“It was a moment when I realized what a great job we do because these kids come from the bowels of the village (and) from extreme poverty.”
The precarious conditions in which he lived did not prevent him from being discovered. Nor did they affect his incredible physique, much less his inner self. “(His) body is handmade, he looks like a handmade statue. Her skin is flawless, and her smile of an angel. But the most important thing is that he is beautiful on the inside, it’s like he was raised in a place without evil,” the famous talent scout recounted.
