Rising model and influencer Tapreikah Sutton is a Senior Mass Communications major from Canton, Mississippi. She first got her start in the modeling world in high school based on the advice and influence from her peers who suggested she model with respect to her height, posture, and tall physique. In high school, Sutton often used fashion to express her bold and charming personality by styling different pieces of her school uniform with many unique fabrics, components, and trends. After joining the modeling squad at her high school, she found a passion for the art form and has stuck with it ever since.
Sutton stated that not only has modeling helped her come out of her shell, but the aspects and characteristics of it is something she carries throughout her everyday life – embodying the sense of confidence when simply walking to class. Her style often fluctuates daily depending on her mood, but she can most certainly be seen wearing bold colors, vital statement pieces, and all things true to her. Her favorite fashion trends are currently mini satchel bags, utility vests for guys, and excessive chunky jewelry.
Sutton has worked with many different stylists and photographers and has walked in various fashion shows in the nearby Mississippi area. Catering to the photographer’s vision is very important to her as she always works to mold into the photographer’s aesthetic and keep their particular audience in mind, which makes it fun, yet challenging for her. Her favorite fashion show that she has walked in was the Late Great Patrick Kelly’s Runway show which paid homage to the celebrated American fashion designer from the 90s in his native hometown of Vicksburg, Mississippi. She described the fast-paced environment as a beautiful process to be a part of.
Before modeling professionally, Sutton was previously on The Trend Modeling Squad (T.R.E.N.D.) at Alcorn State University. She stated that when she first joined the Squad, she learned the core aspects of being a true model. All of the help and hard work from her previous presidents and members helped her significantly as she carries all that she learned in TREND throughout her professional modeling career today.
After graduating, Sutton plans on starting her social media management agency as she first wants to manage her family business and bring exposure to the many different ventures her family offers. She also wants to start a User-Generated Content (UGC) platform as a way for surrounding models to make money off of generating content with the help of social media. As Sutton will continue to model in the future, the advice she gives to inspiring young ladies seeking to join the modeling community is to “Never give up and never take no for an answer, have a strong backbone, and most importantly, believe in yourself.”