The Model Agency Mega Thread (January 2004 - March 2010)

[NicoleRenee]

Thanks so much for all your Greece info!

 

[*DiamondQueen*]

You`re welcome
For the case you`ve more questions just ask!
And what I forgot, you should also ask about the model apartment, there are big differences There is this one place where some agencies put their girls to live

 

[*DiamondQueen*]

I looked at my best-working list for modeling agencies Athens again. It seems there are even more A-level agencies now than the 4 ones mentioned. I see these days about 6-7 agencies belong to the top agencies Athens, working with international partners.

 

[tristan]

Thanks a lot tristan Karma for you.
Do you know the best agencies from Lissabon and Rome? And do these cities have good editorial jobs?

Yeah there is editorial work for sure. But I don't know of alot of models that go to Spain on prolonged stay. It's one of the those markets that is mostly direct bookings.

 

[*DiamondQueen*]

I have to correct my last post about agencies in Athens:
There are more very good/top- ones (I hope this time I won`t forget any-if so you can correct me ) Now I had a look at some lists and asked bookers: Ace Models,X-Raymodels,Action Management,Image I-M,NbP Nothing But People,Fashioncult

Tristan, a pity I can`t give you karma again. You are so helpful and kind here, thanks a lot

 

[John Black]

What is going on at FORD - its getting ridiculous lately - every better model is leaving. Even the ones that have been with them for ages like Veronica Webb, Yasmin le Bon. Recently also Lesly Mason, Fabiana Semprebom and not to forget Alison Nix and today i noticed Vivien Solari... This can be just a coincidence.. Anyone knows what is it about

 

[woemwoem]

yeah, it's bad times at Ford. some of the departures in NY, like Veronica, Yasmine and Kirsty Hinze might be attributable to Neil Hamel, former vp at Ford landing with Elite. Those three girls are now with Elite. And of course Women has always feasted by poaching Ford's new girls so that accounts for Alison, Suzanne and Laragh. As for Lesly and Fabiana leaving Ford Paris, I can only guess that either a) a Ford booker moved to Viva and took them with him/her or b) they are close with Flavia who convinced them to join her at Viva.
As for Vivien Solari, she's been with Ford forever and her career had stalled. It was time for her to leave. Ford just couldn't do anything more for her.
this isn't the first time Ford has had to weather this degree of defections. They've survived them before and rebuilt their boards. But at some point, you have to wonder, is there a lesson to be learned and Ford is just not learning it? It would be a shame if it became Wilhelmina, making lots of money off commercial but totally irrelevent in high fashion.

 

[woemwoem]

yeah, it's bad times at Ford. some of the departures in NY, like Veronica, Yasmine and Kirsty Hinze might be attributable to Neil Hamel, former vp at Ford landing with Elite. Those three girls are now with Elite. And of course Women has always feasted by poaching Ford's new girls so that accounts for Alison, Suzanne and Laragh. As for Lesly and Fabiana leaving Ford Paris, I can only guess that either a) a Ford booker moved to Viva and took them with him/her or b) they are close with Flavia who convinced them to join her at Viva.
As for Vivien Solari, she's been with Ford forever and her career had stalled. It was time for her to leave. Ford just couldn't do anything more for her.
this isn't the first time Ford has had to weather this degree of defections. They've survived them before and rebuilt their boards. But at some point, you have to wonder, is there a lesson to be learned and Ford is just not learning it? It would be a shame if it became Wilhelmina, making lots of money off commercial but totally irrelevent in high fashion.

 

[jakeee]

^theres a huge commotion going on at fashist forum with one former ford model mother, talking about how the agency continually tried to rip them off and steal their money...........maybe that has something to do with it :S

 

[tristan]

^^well there are always parents and models who claim these things, go to any agency and there will be one model who is unhappy and raises a stink.

Agencies will have their ups and downs. But what I think is Ford's problem is that they're not quick to move on trends and for some reason can't realize a girls potential. And that's a *huge* thing to fix with an operation so big, with so many employees. They need a hip young bookers who have their eyes on the editorial and image clients to bring some fresh energy on board.

It's certainly hard to be at an agency for so long and see all your peers at other agencies take off so much quicker.

 

[woemwoem]

I also think Ford's priority isn't necessarily on getting their girls in the coolest high fashion venues, but on making the quckest easiest buck. They are a very profitable agency fr. what I hear and their girls do get jobs, just not the high profile jobs like Vogue or Versace ad campaigns etc.
It's interesting that some of the agencies that are considered cool and hip are the ones that every few years, you hear rumours that they aren't doing well financially, while with a Ford you never hear that, just that they've lost their newest IT girl.

 

[tristan]

^the thing about working at an agency is that it's a balance you must maintain. You must make money but you must be able to produce stars as well. If you can't then you will never attract new girls. Ford doesn't have the gravitational pull that the new girls are attracted to that other agencies like NeXt, Women, IMG and DNA have. Less new girls = less money in the future. No brand new model gets into it to do catalogue.

 

[woemwoem]

Ford has very good at finding new moels. Their scounting network remains pretty strong. The problem has been retaining them after they've found their initial success. It's one thing when a girl leaves because Ford has done nothing for them. It's another when a firl is just starting to find some success and then leaves. Those are the girls Ford really needs to do a better job of retaining.

 

[carola]

Has Kjell Bracke worked with Ford in NY?? She's on their website but I don't know if she has actually worked with them, I love that girl. They have some cool girls, like Hartje and Fernanda Reis and Cicely, so at least the problem is not a lack of models.

I've been reading those Ford model's mother posts in the Fashist! forum for a few months now and who knows, maybe they did steal money from her daughter, maybe they didn't (though she was already complaining about them way before the whole taxes thing) but I don't think that's the way to handle it, nobody's gonna sign her now, and the sad thing is that the girl had some potential. Anyway, I don't think the models are leaving because of that, I mean a lot of girls have left in the last few months but they still have some stars like Flavia, Fabiana, Camila, so not everybody's leaving.

 

[yourbestfriend]

Has Kjell Bracke worked with Ford in NY?? She's on their website but I don't know if she has actually worked with them, I love that girl. They have some cool girls, like Hartje and Fernanda Reis and Cicely, so at least the problem is not a lack of models.

I've been reading those Ford model's mother posts in the Fashist! forum for a few months now and who knows, maybe they did steal money from her daughter, maybe they didn't (though she was already complaining about them way before the whole taxes thing) but I don't think that's the way to handle it, nobody's gonna sign her now, and the sad thing is that the girl had some potential. Anyway, I don't think the models are leaving because of that, I mean a lot of girls have left in the last few months but they still have some stars like Flavia, Fabiana, Camila, so not everybody's leaving.

it seems its mainly the newer girls who are leaving FORD, probaly more or likely because of the allure of having another agency boost up your star potential when seeing your ex agency mates careers take off so fast somewhere else. The other girls seem to be sticking, as you mentioned Flavia, Fabiana, Camila, and other girls who have beent here longer.

As for the Ford mother on fashist, she's really quite crazy I think....she's bitter as you can see how she is always looking for models to rip on like Alison Nix..

 

[evedwards]

They don't really seem to get it over there as far as some of the cooler girls and some of the new faces bookers aren't that welcoming. I know that isn't their job, but if you are in competition with other agencies you have to be competitive in every area. They also don't seem willing to take a chance on a cool, strange new girl.
That is where Women is sweeping the board because Women makes the big money to support it's new face division, Supreme, which can then afford to take huge risks and make major editorial stars.

 

[Annabel]

Does anyone know why Vision NY closed?

 

[MikChick]

Bette -- not pretty or interesting. I would be shocked if she rose to top model status.

Then you might be shocked now, don't you?

She's a topmodel!

 

[Layla88]

Then you might be shocked now, don't you?

She's a topmodel!

she must be after walking more than 60 shows last season !

 

[maau]

is it possible that the agency who contacted you at first and asked u to go to an open call and ditched you at the end? well that happened to me, fusion told me that they were interested in me and asked me to come to an open call, i went there in march and the response i got was a no. did i have to say soemthing like"o, XXXX asked me to come here he said he's interested in me" so they would not pass me? is it possible that different agents working at the same agency have different reactions and response to different models?