MODEL PROFILES: KATE MOSS

Kate Moss is the most influential model working in fashion today. The girl from Croydon holds a special place in modelling history: she is someone, who on paper, should never have succeeded as a model.

Kate’s career began when she was discovered at a New York airport by Storm agency founder Sarah Doukas in 1988. Kate’s meteoric rise through the fashion ranks began with a photo shoot for ‘The Face’ magazine with photographer Corinne Day. The edgy, cool shots spread through the fashion world like wildfire. It was here that Kate was first cast as the ‘anti-supermodel’. Her teenage, waif-like body could not have been more different to the Nineties’ clutch of supermodels: Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista. They were conventionally beautiful and uber sexy. The remit for models was a womanly but slender figure – something that could comfortably fill out a Versace gown.

Kate Moss did the rounds at teen magazines, but it wasn’t until 1993 that she got her first big break. Kate’s inauguration into the public sphere occurred thanks to the vision of American designer Calvin Klein. The now-iconic black and white minimalist ads made Kate the embodiment of progressive, modern fashion – a perfect segue from the Eighties hangover of glamour and sequins. She was small, quirky and unconventional. Perfect for the Nineties.

Kate’s career blossomed virtually overnight. She began to work with the biggest designers, photographers and publications in the fashion industry. Her slight figure courted controversy as the press labelled her look ‘heroin-chic’ (based on the extreme emaciation of drug addicts), but Kate kept her cool and carried on working. Her unwillingness to get drawn into a debate on whether she was a good example to teenagers or not proved to be a canny move. The world of fashion does not stay still for long, and soon the ‘heroin chic’ look fell out of favour. But Kate remained. What she famously lacked in height (Kate, at just over 5’7”, is significantly below the standard industry requirement of 5’10”), she made up for in versatility. The fashion industry saw that in Moss, they had a face-in-a-million. A face that could sell any look: glamorous, editiorial, commercial.

By 2003, as well as her ‘mother agency’ Storm, she needed three additional agencies to manage the deluge of requests for her time. The fiscal years of 2004-06 saw Kate become the second highest-earning model in the world, second only to Gisele Bundchen. In addition to this, Kate has (to date) appeared on 24 British ‘Vogue’ covers, and 17 covers of the US style bible ‘W’. By anyone’s standards, this is an impressive track record.

If Kate had stuck to modelling, this alone would have ensured her longevity, but Kate’s popularity outside the perimeters of the fashion world was something entirely new. Everywhere she went, whatever she did, her style was obsessively chronicled across the world’s media. She wasn’t just a model: she was a pop-culture icon.

For years, the fashion press speculated on whether Kate would ever branch out into fashion design. April 30th 2007 saw the launch of the first Kate Moss / Topshop design collaboration. Kate red-ribboned the collection at Topshop in Oxford Street, appearing in the window as a live mannequin. It caused a sensation and the public, were they in further need of convincing, were hooked.

Financially, the first collection was a huge success, but there was some controversy over the term ‘designer’. Some doubted Kate’s credentials – had she any say in the development of the collection at all? Kate set the record straight by confirming that she did not design the clothes herself, but rather acted as a muse to the TS design team; bringing in samples of her own clothes to act as jumping-off points, and to discuss fabrics and finishings, as well as modelling the finished articles for the TS promotional campaign.

The collection, despite its success, initially received some mixed reviews. Some dubbed it ‘Duplikate’ – clothes for a generation of girls who have grown up watching, admiring and copying their fashion idol, although to criticise such a collection on these grounds is somewhat missing the point. The brilliance of the collaboration between Moss and TS simultaneously paid homage to, and took advantage of, her status as a style icon.

The first and subsequent Topshop collections have been designed for and marketed towards a generation who have dressed under the umbrella concept of ‘celebrity style’. They see, they like, they wear.

Where Kate has engaged with the public most successfully, is how she has ignited popular fashion trends. In recent years, she has spear-headed trends as diverse as denim shorts, Ugg boots, ballet flats, skinny jeans, the waistcoat and the leopard-print scarf, all of which have scored big with consumers across all age and income brackets. In an age where film stars recruit stylists to dress them before popping out for a latte, Kate understands that true style is innate, which is why the public respond to her in the way they do. A scarf thrown on at the last minute before heading out the door becomes a worldwide fashion blockbuster because it is spontaneous, unstudied and fun. Kate Moss has made an indelible mark on how we dress, and present ourselves to the world.

Kate has also steadfastly refused to play the fame game. Notorious for her lack of interviews, Kate Moss has remained at the top of the game by remaining an enigma: a tactic that has garnered more press attention than the ‘confessional’ attitude of D-list celebrities. It is this Garbo-esque silence that has proven to be Kate’s most irresistible play.

What makes Kate Moss so unique in comparison to other models, is her comparative ordinariness. Before her, models were statuesque, utterly beautiful and frankly, more than a little intimidating.

Kate has blown apart the conceptions of what a model should, and can, be. She is the ultimate outsider (‘wrong’ in so many respects), who ended up persuading the fashion industry to see style and beauty from her own unique point of view.

Kate’s legacy is one of embracing frailty and imperfection. This is why the public, and in turn, the world’s media, have embraced her so wholeheartedly. She is, on the face of it, just an ordinary girl. Kate never claimed to be a role model, just a model. She has no interest in being put on a pedestal – for Kate, modelling begins and ends with fashion, not celebrity.

When Moss is remembered, it will not be for the scandals, or the feted rock’n’roll lifestyle – it will be for her unabiding love for fashion. It shines through every photograph. Kate has a profound respect and appreciation for the creative process that makes fashion work. It is Kate’s understanding that the worlds of fashion and modelling progress hand-in-hand, that has made her the most sought-after name in modelling today.

It is a mistake to think that because someone chooses to remain silent, it is because they have nothing to say. Kate Moss has made a fortune on the belief that beauty is not perfection. The best of her work shows that her message is about the importance of accepting one’s flaws. Kate knows instinctively that there is no point in pretending to be perfect. There is much more mileage in being imperfect: in the long run, it makes life (and fashion) much more interesting.

HELEN TOPE

AGENCY PROFILES: PROFILE MODEL MANAGEMENT

Profile Model Management was established in 1986 by former booking agent EJ Steele. Steele’s career began as a booker with several of the top modelling agencies. This helped Steele gain valuable insight into what clients want, and more importantly, what an agency needs to deliver on the client’s request.

Starting Profile with just £5000, the agency grew steadily through the Eighties. Teaming up with model booker Christopher Chalvet de Recy in 1993, Profile built on its existing success. The addition of de Recy was a crucial one, as his years of experience proved to be invaluable in cultivating Profile’s growing reputation.

Profile is what is termed a ‘boutique agency’: an agency that is smaller than the blockbuster names of Elite, IMG, Storm et al. It does not have a banner ‘big name’, but rather than this being a shortcoming, this is actually the agency’s key strength.

By being a boutique agency, Profile has been free to actively pursue and nurture modelling talent on its own terms, free of the constraints a large name would place on their time and resources. Profile’s reputation is secured on providing the industry with the ‘hard grafters’: the models who are not necessarily instantly recognisable or household names, but are in fact the backbone of the fashion industry. Their models populate the world’s catwalks, work comfortably between the shifting demands of editorial, beauty and campaign shoots for clients such as Vogue and Loewe.

The agency specialises in providing editors and photographers with smart, editorial girls whose looks translate across continents. In the world of modelling, there is no shame in anonymity. Indeed, in a profession where a model simply works more if they are able to adapt themselves to whatever mood the client wants to create, not being a ‘name’ possesses a distinct advantage. You can, quite literally, become anybody.

We are living in a ‘celebutante’ age where image and recognition are the chief form of currency. But Profile, along with other boutique agencies dotted around the globe, has spotted the necessity of signing girls who can work under the radar. You may not be as instantly recognisable as a Moss or a Bundchen, but this is no bad thing. Without the added pressure of building and maintaining a public persona (exhausting in itself), you are free to get on with the job in hand.

The big names may make big bucks, but they pay for it: in loss of privacy, extreme pressure to perform at all times, and worse of all – the nagging suspicion that there is someone younger and more attractive just waiting to take your place. Make even one mistake, and that can be enough to undo years of hard work. The subsequent pressure on an agency to maintain that name is immense.

Where a boutique agency like Profile excels, is that they have the freedom to explore new creative directions with their models – there is the time and space to do so. Profile’s models are the face of editorial, high-fashion magazine spreads all over the world. To use a magazine metaphor, if Kate Moss and her like are the headlines, the girls at Profile are the main story.

The fashion industry’s survival rests on the ability of boutique agencies like Profile to seek out new talent. Without this ‘new model army’, the fashion world would visibly struggle and flounder. These girls are the lifeblood of the industry and that is how Profile has continued to operate so successfully over the last 20 years. They know that being small is not the same as acting small. They have thrived on providing the fashion world with what it so desperately needs: not a ‘name’, not a celebrity with good legs, but a reliable, adaptable, professional model.

The increasing trend to use stars to sell magazines may means less cover work all round, but there is always the need for someone who can sell a fashion story with wit, candour and professionalism. The age of the celebrity may not be showing any signs of slowing down, but the ongoing work of agencies such as Profile shows that there is always a market for models. They may not fill column inches in the weekly gossip magazines, but in the fashion arena, these girls are absolutely and fundamentally indispensable.

HELEN TOPE

AGENCY PROFILES: ELITE

Their name means prestige and privilege; the best. It is a tough remit to live up to, but Elite model management has secured itself an unshakeable foothold in the modelling industry.

First, the statistics:

Elite is a 35-agency-strong network, managing over 800 models across 5 continents.

It has bases dotted all over the globe, including New York, Milan, Paris, Barcelona and Copenhagen.

It is responsible for the most influential model-scouting process in the business. The ‘Elite Model Look Contest’, launched in 1983, has found some of the most significant names in the industry, and in turn, has helped shape the look of successive generations of models. What Elite finds, the fashion world wants.

Elite’s list of clients includes Chanel, Dior, Versace, Prada, Yves Saint Laurent and Louis Vuitton. With a client roster like this, there is no chance of an Elite model working under the radar.

A year’s contract with Elite is offered as the grand prize to contestants of ‘America’s Next Top Model’. It is a prize beyond monetary value in terms of what it can do for a new talent’s career, which is goes some way to explaining why the competition between the contestants has a tendency to get a little ugly.

Elite has also recently celebrated its 5 millionth booking – perhaps the most impressive statistic of all.

Elite has a stellar pedigree within the modelling community – a history based on its unflinching pursuit of excellence. But it still tempts the best of new modelling talent onto its books. Recent signings have included two of the hottest names in contemporary fashion: Ali Stephens and Coco Rocha.

The process of an agency can be best understood by the career trajectory of one of its brightest stars – and Coco Rocha is in danger of eclipsing them all.

Born in Canada in 1988, growing up, Rocha had no real handle on the world of fashion. It wasn’t until she was discovered by a modelling scout at an Irish dancing contest, that Rocha began to learn her own value in terms of high-fashion currency.

Signed with Elite, Rocha met with photographer Steven Meisel, which lead to a Vogue Italia cover in March 2008; the highest accolade the industry has to offer any new model. Elite’s expertise in nurturing young stars, coupled with the agency’s heady international presence within the fashion world, ensured that Coco’s rise within the ranks was unimpeded.

She racked up appearances on numerous catwalks for designers such as Prada, Marc Jacobs, Dolce & Gabbana, Balenciaga and Chanel. With such an impressive hit-list, anyone this much in demand must be doing something right.

Where Elite succeeded with Rocha was taking her from fashion girl to the fashion girl, and in doing so, they played to her rather unusual strengths. Securing her a spot in the Jean Paul Gaultier A/W 2007 show, Coco knocked everyone sideways with an unforgettable appearance. Gaultier found out about her dancing background and insisted she start and finish the show – an honour in itself. But she wasn’t to walk down the runway – she had to dance it. Her exuberant Irish dancing caused a sensation, with American Vogue dubbing it the ‘Coco Moment’.

Signing Rocha was a particularly smart move for Elite. Her popularity with fashion editors and photographers boiled down to her unflappable instinct when it came to interpreting stories for editorial shoots. Her intelligent approach to movement and an awareness of how the body creates lines and shapes on camera can be directly attributed to her dance education.

Normally, a model with dance training doesn’t do that well. His or her formal training with emphasis on good posture gets in the way of creating avant-garde shapes and just doesn’t translate on film that readily. But Coco had the best of both worlds, and together they worked in perfect harmony. Rocha had the modelling instinct, and that is what has kept her, and her agency, ahead of the pack.

Elite have surpassed their competitors by being bold enough to take risks on signing faces that do not necessarily fit the fashion mould. On paper, Coco Rocha was a potentially shaky investment. The disparity between dancing and modelling alone would have put many other agencies off that contract. But Rocha is a rare breed; a dancer whose skills add to, rather than impede, the modelling package.

Elite has risen to the top by focusing not on the good, but on the great. In aiming for the best, they have achieved a level of success unrivalled in the industry, and it was all done on instinct. Yes, industry know-how played its part too, but listening to an instinct, however wrong it may seem, is what has put this agency at the top of the game. Elite acted on that instinct when signing Rocha, and it is that very same instinct that is responsible for each and every of one of those 5 million bookings.

HELEN TOPE

AGENCY PROFILE: PREMIER

Premier Models was founded over 25 years ago by former model Carole White and her brother, Chris Owen. Premier now has over 200 models on its books, and has over the years helped to shape the careers of Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Kirsty Hume and Christy Turlington. Premier has proven its name within the fashion industry as a credible and authoritative presence.

This impressive pedigree has established Premier as one of the leading agencies in Europe. Its ‘Main Board’, which deals with established talent, can count successful campaigns and high-profile runway work among its models’ achievements.

However, Premier is just as well known for ‘Premier Special’, a division for boosting the profile of clients from the world of entertainment. Where Premier differs from other agencies is that it has focused on the cross-over of these non-fashion clients into the world of high-fashion, with personal appearances, advertising and PR for major brands. No better example of the success of this strategy can be seen in the career of one of Premier Special’s most notable signings: Cheryl Cole.

Cheryl’s meteoric rise from Popstars wannabe to X Factor judge has seemingly occurred with heady speed and meeting very little resistance. Of course, anyone who moves this far and fast up the ladder has done so with a lot of hard work behind the scenes. To quote Judy Garland, there is no such thing as an ‘overnight sensation’.

Cheryl has, with the team at Premier, manoeuvred her budding fame from being the tomboy-ish one in Girls Aloud to the status of household name. It is doubtful that there is anyone left in the UK who is not at least familiar with Cheryl Cole the brand – the face alone sells it.
With the fashion know-how accrued at Premier, Cheryl has graduated from girl-band fodder to style headliner. Premier has made sure that her style is at the forefront of every article written about her. Her wardrobe choices are exhaustively covered in the fashion press – just five years ago, editors would never have even considered including her on any ‘Best Dressed’ List - now she is at the very top of the fashion tree.

If you want proof what Premier can do for a celebrity’s image, watch any episode from the last series of ‘X Factor’. Premier have not focused on Cheryl’s beauty (which would have been the obvious route to take), but on her personality. It is Cheryl’s charisma is what makes her so watchable – she outshines everybody, and that includes the contestants. Now very much a fixture on the talent show, Simon Cowell has ensured that she stays for at least another series. He knows that ITV have a stellar selling-point in Cheryl: home-spun Geordie warmth combined with killer heels have proved an irresistible siren call to the British public.

Premier’s other success stories include signing a German model called Diane Heidkruger. When she wanted to go into acting, she became Diane Kruger. So far her acting credits include working alongside Nicolas Cage and Brad Pitt. Models-turned-actresses are not meant to build such an impressive resume so quickly. Along with a long-standing affiliation with Chanel, It’s proof that the Premier formula works. Fashion sense + PR savvy = a client who is never out of the spotlight for long. Applying lessons learnt in the modelling world (eg: pro-active scouting for new talent; exploring and tailoring off-shoots of opportunity), Premier have taken the worlds of entertainment and fashion and made one indistinguishable from the other. Where the two used to be on friendly terms but very much separate, they now co-exist quite happily: think of Oscar night if you still need to be convinced that fashion and celebrity have never been closer. But Premier has recognised that a strong image in itself is not enough: if you want to stay in the limelight, you better have something to say that is worth listening to.

What Premier knows best is that if you want to get your message across, a little charm goes a long way. Premier has used its knowledge and influence in the fashion world, not only to secure a strong base of modelling talent, but has actively shaped the way we view celebrities. With the momentous success of Premier girls like Cheryl Cole, Diane Kruger, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Lucy Liu comes the advent of a new kind of celebrity. He or she may not be perfect, but they have an edge to them, which makes them different and that in turn makes them interesting. They are not pre-packaged and media-trained to within an inch of their lives – the best signings at Premier prove that vulnerability and imperfection capture the public’s interest like nothing else.

Premier has ensured that the cult of celebrity, while never going out of fashion exactly, continues in a new direction. Taking lessons learnt from the modelling industry, Premier has homed in on the importance of being earnest. It’s compelling, refreshing and very, very seductive.

HELEN TOPE

AGENCY PROFILES: NEXT

Started up in 1989 and only representing a few girls, NEXT model management now possesses the largest network of agencies on the planet. With offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris and affiliates as far afield as Sydney, NEXT has ensured that it has its eyes firmly on any up-and-coming talent: if a new face is creating a buzz, NEXT will definitely hear about it.

NEXT has simply founded its reputation on one core idea: beauty. Representing names such as Petra Nemcova, Jessica Miller, Molly Sims and Anja Rubik (pictured) – these girls are all famous within the modelling community for giving good face.

The fact that an agency can grow and develop so rapidly within the space of twenty years on the strength of this one concept may seem puzzling when you consider the high-fashion editorial looks of models such as Lily Cole and Agyness Deyn, who are both very much in vogue. Surely this type of face makes more money? Isn’t that what editors and advertisers want? Strong editorial edge, grit and ample fashion appeal?

While an edgy, fashion-forward face may work when lent to a cosmetics brand aimed at women under 25, the fact of the matter is that when it comes to selling products generally, pretty trumps edgy every time.

NEXT have long understood the power of conventional beauty. It may not move fashion forward in daring and dazzling new directions, but it is a palpable force the world over. The power of a face with good symmetry, bone structure and clear, strong features cannot be underestimated.

Tests have been run by showing very young babies (before the advance of speech or peer influence), photos of human faces. Without exception, the babies responded to the conventionally attractive faces more than the everyday ones. The conclusion? Humans are genetically pre-programmed to respond favourably to beauty.

NEXT exploits this fact to their advantage. Using classically-beautiful models (often harder to find than an editorial girl), they have actively chosen to build a book of talent around the principle of timeless, rather than chase that instant, of-the-moment look.

Their reputation for scouting the best talent is clear when you consider just a small batch of names from their Women’s Division. Names like Anja Rubik, Filippa Hamilton and Jessica Miller may not have the immediacy of a Moss or a Deyn, but their faces are everywhere.

Beauty has always equalled desire, and companies are clamouring to get these girls behind their products. In the advertising industry, it is one of the rarest and most desirable commodities, second only to celebrity. These girls are routinely booked for major campaigns, and as a consequence, their faces (if not their names) are among the most recognisable within the fashion industry.

These faces sell products because they are attractive, yes, but more importantly, it is a type of face that can be projected onto any image the client wants. From perfume and cosmetics to lingerie and sportswear, a NEXT model can lend their look to any of them and not look out of place. Versatility sells, and true beauty is very, very versatile.

NEXT has, from its substantial agency network dotted around the globe, proof that whatever the mood of the fashion world, there is always money in pretty. Quite simply, regardless of where fashion takes the modelling industry, beauty will never go out of style.

HELEN TOPE

AGENCY PROFILES: IMG

In an age where small is beautiful, IMG stands above the parapet of the modelling world. Boasting branches dotted around the globe (Paris, London, Milan and New York), IMG is a fashion colossus.

It is responsible for some of the most famous faces in modelling. Its roster of past and present faces reads like an encyclopaedia entry under ‘modelling’. Naomi Campbell, Jessica Stam, Kate Moss, Gisele Bundchen, Tyra Banks, Erin Wasson and Maggie Rizer have all been affiliated with the agency at some point in their careers.

With an international agency of this size, you could be forgiven for assuming that new talent could get lost in the crowd. Not so with IMG. It could very easily stick with a dozen or so trusted faces – some of the names listed above would comfortably ensure the agency’s survival for the next five years – but instead of resting on its laurels, IMG strives to move on. It takes chances and readily gambles on models that fall outside the mainstream fashion trajectory.

Daria Werbowy, Gemma Ward and Alek Wek are models, who under a different agency at a different time would not have gained any further appeal than with the most avant-garde designers. Now they are well-known in the wider arena of the fashion world, winning international campaigns with big designer brands and cosmetic companies. IMG has exploded the misconception that fashion is a local business: what is popular with London-based clients will not translate to Paris and so on. IMG has made modelling a truly international industry.

A multi-strand corporation diving into many areas of traditional and virtual media, IMG has applied what it has learnt about promotion, management and development from the worlds of sport and entertainment. Where this principle has succeeded most is where models have themselves become their own brand.

Gisele Bundchen is arguably the most recognisable face in modelling today. She has walked runways for every major designer, appeared on countless magazine covers and editorial spreads, but it is the application of her name and image to advertisers outside the immediate fashion industry that has made her globally recognised. (Having a look that can be applied to virtually any product on the planet doesn’t hurt either). Gisele has sold everything from perfume to watches, all with equal aplomb. Even landing small acting roles in films such as ‘The Devil Wears Prada’, continues to boost her profile – just in case there’s anyone left who doesn’t know who she is.

IMG has transformed the modelling industry’s goals and aspirations. It is no longer enough to be ‘just a model’. The smart kids entering the modelling world today know that modelling in itself is only a finite career. With an ever-shifting aesthetic, even if you’re the hardest-working model in town, you can be literally in fashion one week, and out the next.

To last, and maintain any level of success, one must think bigger: what is it about me that makes me different? To turn yourself into a brand to be marketed and developed is a relatively new concept, and one that IMG is compellingly good at.

It has taken advantage of the fact that the world’s media now feed off each other, with an ever-circulating exchange of information. Rather than making it a cynical exercise in profiteering, IMG has placed the PR game in a very intelligent way.

Playing to models’ (and clients’) strengths, models can now be equally well-known through a variety of avenues. Heidi Klum, another noteable IMG name, is just as well known for her long-standing affiliation with lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret, as she is for producing her own fine jewellery line and presenting perennial fashion TV favourite, ‘Project Runway’. Having Heidi onboard has secured the programme a level of kudos highly unusual for a television series dealing directly with the world of fashion. The two worlds have not traditionally had a happy time of it together. But ‘Project Runway’ is an example of how careful management can get the balance right. Part of the programme’s appeal can be directly attributed to the impressively high-profile guests who regularly appear on the programme. A television show that has Michael Kors as a regular panel judge, and designers like Diane Von Furstenberg and Francisco Costa appearing as guests, must be doing something right.

IMG offers up a valuable lesson in how to make the most of every opportunity, and more crucially, playing to your strengths. The days of models routinely retiring at 22 are long gone. IMG has grasped the mettle of the world’s media and has defined for an entire generation, how a photogenic face can become a fortune.

HELEN TOPE

AGENCY PROFILES: SELECT

Select has a very unique place within modelling history. Founded over 30 years ago by sisters Clare and Chrissie Castagnetti and their friend Tandy Anderson, Select has established itself as the no.1 modelling agency in the UK.

The thing that sets it apart from other long-standing agencies is a special claim to fame. Select had the novel, and pioneering, idea of not just relying on finding new faces via applications and word-of-mouth. They took their search to the streets.

Scoping the streets for a new, fresh face that could be moulded and groomed into something special had never been done before. Scouting, as it came to be known, transformed the way the modelling industry operated.

This has now become such an integral part of the business, that even those who profess to know nothing about modelling know the term ‘scout’ and more importantly, what a scout does. This approach has not only paid dividends for Select, but for the modelling world in general: some of the most exciting finds of the last twenty years have been thanks to the eagle eyes of a scout: Kate Moss, Jourdan Dunn, Sophie Dahl and Jessica Stam were all discovered far beyond the walls of an agency.

This method has blown apart the pre-conceptions people have about the modelling world being a closed book. Scouting has provided an element of excitement and opportunity into an industry, which is by its very nature, elitist. Yes, agencies still want the best, but now the best models of the next five years might be found trawling the rails at Topshop.

Every agency, subsequent to Select’s pioneering approach, now has scouts working on their behalf. Select has proven the success of this method, with faces that were discovered through scouting now working on international campaigns. Their New Faces team also has an impressive success rate: Lily Donaldson, Agyness Deyn, Daisy Lowe and Paul Sculfor have all started their careers at Select.

Maintaining an internationally-renowned client base, Select continues to explore new possibilities with its Special Bookings division. Former model Alexa Chung and music wunderkind V V Brown being just two of their signings, shows that Select has a very clear vision of what is current. To ensure an agency’s survival in these difficult times, no skill is more essential.

Select’s legacy, if it can be summed up at this point in their history, is a democratisation of modelling. In the 1950’s, models were the daughters of aristocrats, and it showed. This all changed in the free-wheeling Sixties with the discovery of an ordinary working-class girl with an extraordinary look. Twiggy’s discovery re-shaped the future for models, but it wasn’t until Select came up with the idea of scouting that modelling became a truly open market.

They have created a democracy of opportunity for models: opportunity based on merit, rather than breeding. This thoroughly modern approach has revolutionised modelling and fashion. You just have to flick through the pages of the latest Vogue to spot the names of talents, who 50 years ago, would not have been allowed anywhere near a catwalk: Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Julien McDonald, Gareth Pugh and Henry Holland to name just a few.

Select’s willingness to open the doors of the fashion industry has resulted in a truly unique collection of talent (designers, photographers as well as models), which is now at the forefront of the British fashion industry, pushing it on to newer, bigger and better. Making modelling accessible has changed the aesthetic of designers, and in turn, fashion itself. Select has ensured not only its survival, but its evolution.

HELEN TOPE