How To Get Representation In Multiple Markets
If you are looking to travel, and your mother agent feels that you are ready, there are a few ways your mother agent can get you representation in another city or country. Yes, leave it to your mother agent. The reason being is that not only does he or she have connections with agents around the globe, but also knows which markets are appropriate for you and your success. Not all markets have the same clientele, therefore, the requirements for models will differ too. Furthermore, there can be laws, regulations and age restrictions that might effect your ability to work in certain cities. Below are the ways your mother agent can help you get opportunities to travel. However, keep in mind that they do not guarantee you representation in these other markets, as it remains dependent on the decisions of the agents in those cities:
Submit your materials to agents via email.
Your portfolio and digitals will be sent to the appropriate agents for their feedback
Arrange appointments for you to visit agencies in another market.
Whether you are traveling to a city for vacation or specifically for your career; your mother agent can arrange for you to visit the local model agencies. Your mother agent will usually email your portfolio to the agents in advance before they agree to meet with you in person.
Hold a casting for a visiting agent or scout.
Agents and scouts travel around to many cities, including yours, in search of new faces to represent in their markets. If your mother agent feels that they would consider you for representation, you will be called into your agency to meet with them. On the other hand, the visiting agent or scout may see your portfolio and request to meet you for a go-see.
An agent notices your portfolio online and contacts your mother agent.
Agents regularly browse through each other’s websites. It is not uncommon for an agent to see a new face and call up the model’s mother agent in hopes to represent him or her in their market.
In any of the above circumstances, the agency will ask your mother agent to provide them with:
- Your current digitals in a bathing suit or underwear.
- Your current measurements.
- A video of you introducing yourself and doing a runway walk.
If they feel that you have the right model requirements, confidence, and experience for their market; the agency will offer you representation.
Five Safety Tips When Traveling To Other Markets
Traveling alone can be daunting, especially when you are going to a place for the first time. Inexperience in air travel, navigating your way around a new city, and not understanding the local language, has the potential to put you at risk.
Here are a few tips that will help keep you and your belongings safe. Adopting these, along with your every day common sense, should limit possible incidents of theft/loss of property and personal harm. So, now the only concerns left are; what to pack and how to slay your new market.
Checked luggage can easily get lost, or left for others to help themselves to your belongings. Make sure that you put all your valuables in your carry-on bag, such as:
- Mobile phone (don’t forget to fully charge it).
- Adapter and chargers for electrical appliances.
- Laptop or tablet (with all your portfolio images).
- Valid passport.
- Visa documentation.
- Money/Credit Cards
- Contact telephone numbers and addresses of your accommodation and agency.
- Portfolio.
- Valuable jewelry or watch.
- Medication/Prescriptions (make sure you bring more than you need in case you lose some, or stay longer than expected)
Avoid getting sucked into the promises of nightclub promoters; free drinks, food, parties, and even trips. They usually have an ulterior motive. Some promoters will encourage you to attend parties and clubs so that they can draw in more customers to buy alcohol - which may seem harmless. However, a few have allegedly coerced models into very dangerous lifestyles. Promoters not only work the nightlife scene, but they also hang around where most of the castings are held, and even find out the phone numbers and addresses of the model apartments. This is all in hopes to lure models into the clubs and get paid very well doing it. If you are of legal age and want to explore the local nightlife, go with a roommate or a trusted friend. Be careful not to consume a lot of alcohol, or stay out too late. Lastly, and most importantly; don’t walk around at night by yourself.
Study the city or town that you will be visiting. Familiarize yourself with a map of the local area, and pinpoint where your lodgings and model agency is located. They will be easier to find once you are there. If you are traveling to a country that has a different language; it is advisable to learn a few key words and phrases:
- “Hello” and “Goodbye”
- “Please” and “Thank you”’
- “My name is…”
- “I am from…..(country)”
- "How much is...."
- Your birthdate
- How to order food and drink
- How to ask for directions
- Days of the week
- Numbers
- Emergency words “Help”, “Fire”, “Police”, “Hospital”
Also, be aware of the local customs; whether it is how you greet people, attend public events, or even dress code. Showing respect towards their culture will improve the way the local’s assist and respond towards you.
Although you should have some cash in the local currency, it is advisable to have most of your allowance in the form of an internationally used credit card; such as Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. Should it get lost or stolen, you can call the bank to freeze that card and send you a new one. The card will also protect you from paying for any fraudulent charges.
Bring a phone that has a cost-effective international plan. Make sure that the following numbers are stored in your phone, and written down. This is so you can quickly reach the people you need during an emergency. Also, don’t forget to take note of the local and international dialing codes:
- Local model agency
- Mother agent
- National emergency (Police/Ambulance/Fire)
- Your bank’s Fraud Protection hotline
- Travel insurance company
- Family Member/ Guardian
Interview with STORM’S Noelle Doukas And Christopher Yianoullou
Noelle and Christopher have over twenty-five years experience between them, spent working at the forefront of the modeling industry. Both agents exude bright dynamic personalities with an obvious passion for the talent they represent.
We chat about STORM, which has been one of the most influential model agencies since Sarah Doukas, Noelle’s mother, opened its doors in 1987, and move onto the innovations within the market and the changes of their model requirements.
FMD: What are the key attributes that STORM looks for when scouting for models?
Chris: We look for standards like height and beautiful skin and great bone structure, but our industry has started to celebrate the more unique aspects of the girl – who she is and what she’s about; her style, her personality. There is much more to it, and you can’t just scout by looking at someone, you really need to talk to that person and get a feel for who they are. Clients like ASOS and Urban Outfitters want to do more profile pieces, and they want real people, so it makes it more fun for us because [models] don’t have to be strictly 5’10” minimum anymore. It’s more flexible, and more fun; so yeah it’s about character more than anything really.
FMD: Whenever you bring international models into London; what is your process, and does STORM have specific facilities to accommodate them?
Noelle: It all depends on how long you are bringing girls in for, and also what you are bringing them in for. There are some girls we bring in for periods of time, say two to three months; in which case you set them up in a house. We do have model apartments, but we also have a wide range of people who are like second moms who look after them, because it is quite daunting if they have never been into the territory before. Obviously, if it’s a girl who has never been to the UK, we take a bit of time explaining how to get around, because the girls have go-sees or castings every day. They probably have four to five castings a day. So, they kind of hit the ground running really. Sometimes, we try to set them up with other girls so they get a feel for what they are doing. We do have an assistant on board that goes through everything with them, and gives them a UK phone and tries to introduce them to transport etc. London’s enormous isn’t it, so expecting these girls to go to appointment to appointment is really quite daunting.
FMD: Are the castings based in London or all over the UK?
Noelle: They are completely sporadic. With castings, you can’t dictate what time it is, what area it is, so a girl could be coming from E1 and then having to go to SE11 (London postcodes with a distance of five miles) and she’s got a small amount of time to do it. If you get a bigger international girl, say she’s here for three days, it’s easier to put them in a car. They are doing a ton of appointments a day, back to back. I mean, since Uber’s come around it’s changed things quite a bit. It’s not that expensive to Uber from one place to another.
FMD: Uber’s made a model’s life a lot easier.
Noelle: It makes it probably a lot easier. I do feel for them though. I have done go-sees and castings with one girl once, and I thought, “I do feel sorry for them.”
Chris: It’s not as glamorous as you think.
FMD: Describe the London Market and Clientele.
Noelle: Well, I think first of all we’ve got the best editorial, I would say in the world, because we have the high-end publications like Vogue, Harpers, and Elle, and we also have the really kind of cool magazines like Dazed, and Wonderland. Now, there are a lot of online publications, there’s a pop-up magazine every day.
Chris: It’s a super creative city, with all the great designers and fashion schools. The students’ work is incredible here.
Noelle: It’s a good market to develop a girl because, as I’ve said, when we’ve got such a wide range of editorials; it’s good to develop their books. But, I think another great thing about London is that we have the advertising, the catalogues, and the E-com, and so a girl is pretty much guaranteed to make a nice amount of money. I mean the British pound is pretty shocking at the moment, but prior to that, it was great! No, it’s a great city! Our Fashion week is better than it ever has been before. I think a lot more girls are coming to London to do the shows, it’s a lot more relevant. So, I would say London’s definitely kind of an all-rounder. You know the only other thing is there is not as much competition, because most girls base themselves in New York, at which point you’re competing with x amount of girls, as opposed to a less amount of cool, international new faces.
FMD: How easy is it for new models to acclimate to the London Market?
Chris: I think for the younger girls it’s actually quite nice. We’re an English speaking country; the Tube (Underground) is pretty self-explanatory, and the English culture is very polite, and we like to help!
Noelle: They do get chaperoned though, if they are too young. We’d never let a girl under eighteen go out on her own, ever.
Chris: Yeah, and that also helps when they get settled in, there’s an English person there to teach them the ropes, the underground etc., how it works. We’ve never had any problems.
FMD: You mentioned that STORM has model apartments; are there strict rules enforced for the people staying in them?
Noelle: I wish we did, it’s a nightmare! It’s funny, model apartments are generally there for brand new girls, but sometimes girls end up living there for a couple of years. Some girls are actually messier maybe than boys, from what the cleaners tell us. (laugh)
Chris: Yeah, it’s bad! (laugh)
Noelle: It’s not good! It’s not good! I can’t understand it because I think if you can do this to someone else’s house, would you actually do this in your own house? I don’t think they would. Occasionally, we have to get pest control, painters and decorators coming in, or there are doors being broken off hinges or whatever it is. They’re young kids aren’t they; they’re not at home with their parents. I do get girls specifically saying, “I don’t want to stay in a model apartment”. We have a group of really lovely people who rent out rooms, and you know, I think they like it, the international girls who’ve not been here before, they feel kind of nurtured. It’s actually nice to be in a family environment.
FMD: What would you say are the most important qualities models should have?
Noelle: A voice and a personality for sure. I’ve seen the most beautiful girls in the world that have no personality, and I’m not meaning that in a derogative way, I just mean that, I think it’s like dating actually; you can think ‘oh, you’re fairly attractive’, but it’s the connection you have that actually develops how they come across, how you relate to that person – and actually personalities can make or break someone. You meet someone who’s really arrogant and full of themselves, and all that beauty just completely diminishes, whereas someone with a great personality can win you over in a different way, and you see a totally different side of them.
For me, if I were a casting director, it would be that. And it’s interesting to see how [it affects modeling], say you bring in a girl you don’t know particularly well, and she gets 30 options in a month and not one of them confirms, you start to think ‘there’s something not quite right there’, or you can get a girl that you weren’t entirely sure about but she has an amazing personality and her chart is full of red confirmations.
Chris: It’s true though!
FMD: Is there a common mistake that stands out as something models repeat over and over again?
Noelle: I would probably say approaching things with too much negativity.
Chris: Yeah, I was about to say that – or over thinking.
Noelle: When they start to analyze too much, girls can get very down on themselves, and I think that can come across to people. You can get yourself into a hole and it’s difficult to climb back out of it.
But I think it’s like that for everyone, for everything in life. I always write my Gratitudes down every day, things that I’m grateful for. If you try and make yourself feel more positive, then positivity comes back to you. But, I think when you go into anything with a negative view; it’s not going to turn itself around. You’ve got to be strong, and I think you’ve got to have a strong backbone. But saying this, I personally wouldn’t want to be judged on my looks every day of my life. It takes a certain quality of person.
Chris: Yeah, everyone thinks it’s an easy job, but…
Noelle: It’s one of the hardest. The worst thing a girl could ever do is to have a negative view on the industry, or herself, or whatever it is, you know, unless they’re enjoying it, loving it, I try to discourage them doing it at all. Because I think they’re so young, surely in that age group you’re supposed to be having the time of your life, not scrutinizing every part of yourself.
Modeling Markets
What is a "market" or "markets"? It is a term used to describe the countries, states, and cities where model agencies are located. They are defined by the type of clients and models that work there. Because the clientele varies in each city and country, so do the model specifications.
PRIMARY MARKETS
Primary markets are predominantly home to all the major designers and magazines. Countless models flock to these fashion Meccas; inundating agencies and creating fierce competition. Even though these markets also have catalogue and commercial clients, top agencies seek young models that are very tall, slender, and have edgy features - which are commonly booked for editorial and advertising work.
- Paris.
- London.
- Milan.
- New York.
SECONDARY MARKETS
These are the most competitive secondary markets, but there are other model agencies located in additional cities. The majority of their client base is catalogue and commercial.
With the exception of the Asian market, which has a very specific look and size requirement, agencies are open to a broader age range, size, and look for their models. Nevertheless, many of the cities in this category still have high-end editorial and advertising work that warrants agents to represent a few 'image' or top models.
U.S.A/ SOUTH AMERICA/ CANADA
- Dallas.
- Los Angeles.
- Miami.
- San Francisco.
- Seattle.
- Sao Paulo.
- Toronto.
- Vancouver.
EUROPE
- Amsterdam.
- Athens.
- Barcelona.
- Copenhagen.
- Hamburg.
- Madrid.
- Munich.
- Prague.
ASIA
- Bangkok.
- Osaka.
- Seoul.
- Tokyo.
AUSTRALASIA
- Auckland.
- Melbourne.
- Sydney.
SOUTH AFRICA
- Cape Town.
