Shot by Gautier Pellegrin – Fashion Editor Gioele Panedda – Model Jacob Gutierrez at DMen – Make up Rodrigo De Souza – Hair Gianluca Grechi using Monacelli Italy – Casting Director Isadora Banaudi – Stylist Assistant Sofia Roma – Photographer Assistant Lorenzo Caglione – Interview Barbara Maestri // Total Look Louis Vuitton
What was your very first job as a model? What were your feelings towards it?
My very first show was a music performance, but honestly at that time I wasn’t really into it. I didn’t feel any particular emotions towards that experience.
Do you like your name? Is it linked to a particular person before you or does it have another origin?
Today I like my name, but when I was younger I didn’t! It seemed to me that it didn’t sound aggressive or masculine enough. However, its origin is very incredible. When my mom was pregnant, her doctor said I wasn’t growing perfectly healthy. So my grandmother started praying the Bible every night. Once, she had a dream about the name “Jacob” and that I would be a healthy baby. And that’s what happened! That is the reason of my naming!
A smell that reminds you of home.
The smell of burning wood reminds me of my hometown in Dominican Republic.
What’s your recurring dream?
I have a recurring dream of being in a certain location chilling with my people and friends. Then suddenly something upsetting or violent erupts. But somehow it always has an happy ending before I wake up.
If you had to decide, would you choose to change your past or control your future?
I’d control my future with no doubts
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Right now, what point in your career do you think you’ve reached?
I’m still at the beginning of my career.
Do you have a secret diary where you put down your thoughts?
I don’t have a diary but I do have a note book where I write down my ideas about music or videos, everything that comes to my mind and that is related to creativity!
Who’s the first person you call when you get good or bad news?
Honestly, talking to other people doesn’t generate the reactions you might predict or expect. So what I usually do is take time for myself, sit down and think about what I’m experiencing. That’s the best way: to reflect and then to make actions.
Would you ever go bungee jumping?
Hell yeah!
Do you like gardening? Are you any good at it?
Yes, I like gardening! My grandfather was a farmer, so anything that has to do with growing plants or my own food is such a fascinating process. I have tried to cultivate and I have probably a green thumb, but it is tough to keep this family traditions and interest when living in a big city!
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Are you superstitious? Do you have any rituals before a fashion show?
My brain is quite superstitious! It often tries to make me believe that I need to do this or that to be successful. I manage to balance this impulse by reminding myself that I don’t have to do anything extremely exceptional to make things work. I have a ritual that is more a practice: I say thank you to my relatives, parents or friends, as I consider gratitude an important approach.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
My guilty pleasure is to gain every single second of sleep possible. It doesn’t matter how urgent something is, sleep is much more fulfilling…even at risk to be late! (laughs)
Are you a messy or super organised guy?
I think it is crazy to be super organised. I try to cope with order, but sometimes things get worse and I have no regrets, sorry!
Tell me the happiest memory from your childhood.
The happiest moment of my childhood was in Dominican Republic with my grandmother. She had a beautiful farmland. I used to wander around with her, picking up some fruit or vegetables from the trees.
If you found Aladdin’s lamp, what would you ask for?
Honestly? I would ask for more of them, continuing to wish until the day I die.
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