Two young women from St. Kitts and Nevis are set to take an important step in their modelling careers after being selected to attend one of the fashion industry’s most respected training programmes in New York.

Liberty Woodley and Nashanti Perkins have been chosen as the first beneficiaries of Project Xport: New Faces, a new initiative launched by the Department of Creative Economy to help local creatives gain international exposure and professional development opportunities.

The pair will travel to New York this week to participate in the Coco Rocha Model Camp, which runs from June 6 to 9 and is widely regarded as one of the premier training programmes for aspiring and professional models.

Woodley, who was first runner-up in the most recent Miss St Kitts and Nevis National Carnival Queen Pageant, is attached to Movado Modelling Agency in St Kitts. Perkins, the first runner-up in the 2025 Miss White Sands Swimsuit Competition, is represented by The Elites agency in Nevis.

Their selection follows a casting call hosted by the Department of Creative Economy on May 16, where 40 aspiring models were evaluated by a panel of industry professionals.

Participants were assessed on a range of skills, including runway performance, confidence, professionalism, stage presence, camera awareness and overall market potential.

The initiative forms part of Project Xport, a broader programme designed to help creatives from St. Kitts and Nevis access training, networking opportunities and international markets.

Director of the Department of Creative Economy, Roberitine Webbe, described the programme as an investment in the future of the Federation’s creative sector.

“Project Xport represents our commitment to intentionally creating opportunities for creatives in St. Kitts and Nevis to access training, visibility and professional development beyond our shores,” Webbe said.

“We have extraordinary talent within this Federation, and initiatives like New Faces are about ensuring that talent is not confined by geography, but instead positioned to compete, grow and thrive within regional and international industries.”

The New York training programme will be led by internationally renowned supermodel Coco Rocha, whose career has included collaborations with some of fashion’s biggest brands, including Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Prada and Balmain.

Known throughout the fashion industry as the “Queen of Pose,” Rocha has become a leading figure in model development and has helped mentor a number of internationally recognised models.

Officials said the initiative is part of a wider strategy to strengthen the country’s creative economy by building talent pipelines and creating opportunities for local creatives to connect with global industries.

Project Xport was launched earlier this year with a music-focused programme that saw local artistes DJ Tero and AkaiiUSweet travel to Ghana to perform at Karnival Kingdom.

The Department of Creative Economy said additional Project Xport initiatives are expected to be rolled out across other sectors as the programme continues to expand.