PRIME Minister Andrew Holness on Wednesday described the late Kingsley Cooper as a trailblazer in the model, fashion, and lifestyle sectors. “Kingsley was simply a cut above the rest,” Holness said in a statement on the death Tuesday of the Pulse boss. “Jamaica has lost an icon in the fashion industry who discovered several of the world’s best models who represented major brands,” said Holness.
“His pioneering work as founder of Pulse Model Agency in the 1980s was the catalyst that placed Jamaica front and centre of the lifestyle sector locally and overseas,” added Holness. “Kingsley’s astute business sense saw him transforming Pulse into an investment and lifestyle brand with significant regional impact, creating products such as Caribbean Model Search, Caribbean Fashion Week, among others and later listing the investment company on the stock market, which saw its entry into real estate and other ventures,” said the prime minister. Cooper, who died in Florida, United States, where he was flown for treatment last week after falling ill, received the Order of Distinction in the rank of Commander for pioneering, defining, and developing the modelling industry, locally, regionally, and internationally.
He was 71. Cooper, a Kingston College old boy, founded Pulse —Jamaica’s first fashion and general entertainment company — in 1980. He was responsible for staging some of the more prestigious live concerts in Jamaica over the years, featuring top reggae, R.