Philadelphia-raised, 24-year-old Hatian-American model Yvesmark Chery is styled by Stefania Chekalina in bold tailoring from David Hart, Ermenegildo Zegna, Teddy Vonranson, Victor Li and more for Paper Magazine.

Mario Abad interviews the model and more, who was recently featured in a YouTube film on Black Renaissance figures, alongside Barack and Michelle Obama. Cherry is photographed by Alyona Kuzmina [IG]

Chery calls his vitiligo condition “a blessing in disguise” and speaks overall to Paper questions with the voice of an old soul. Asked by Abad how he became comfortable in his own skin, Chery responds:

Growing up I wanted vitiligo off from my face. My thought process was that I can hide the Vitiligo on my body with clothing, but there was no way to hide my vitiligo on my face (only with makeup which I didn't want to do). However, there came a point in time where I stopped caring about my skin and that is due to my belief in God, my support system (friends and family) and my goals. Focusing on those important areas in my life helped build self-confidence and love for myself.

Originally propelled by achieving a career in IT, Cherry is a fresh blend of sensitivity and ambition. Acknowledging his platform as a role model of self-love while being “different”, the model also uses the Paper interview to sell himself.

Asked by Paper if he has any “dream modeling jobs”, Yvesmark Chery responds:

I would love to do an Yves for Yves Saint Laurent campaign. I love the play on words [laughs]. But besides that I'm literally doing my dream jobs with every gig I do because I didn't plan on being a model in college.