Elite Model Management (MM) refers to two independent chain
modeling agencies
A modeling agency is a company that represents fashion models, to work for the fashion industry. These agencies earn their income via commission, usually from the deal they make with the model and/or the head agency.
The top agencies work with bi ...
that originated as one in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
in 1972 with subsequent locations in
New York,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
,
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
.
In 2004, the agencies in New York, Miami, Los Angeles and Toronto separated forming Elite Model Management North America. Elite MM is a subsidiary of Elite World S.A., which main shareholder
Silvio Scaglia
Silvio Scaglia (born 14 October 1958) is a Swiss-born media and technological entrepreneur.
Scaglia is the founder of Fastweb, an Italian telecommunications company. He also co-founded Freedom Holding (formerly Pacific Global Management Group), ...
controls his stake through managing company Elite World Group (EWG) where Elite MM is one of brands along with
The Society Management
The Society Management is a model management company based in New York City, and is the official U.S. division of the Elite World network. It is also the U.S. branch of the Elite Model Look contest.
Models
The following models & talent are curr ...
(The Society),
Women Management
Women Management is a modelling agency based in New York, Founded by Paul Rowland in 1988, Women Management has two sister agenciesSupreme ManagementanWomen 360 Management which are also part of the Women International Agency Chain. Women Manage ...
, Supreme Management, and
Elite Model Look
Elite Model Look (formerly known as Look of the Year from 1983 to 1995) is a yearly fashion modeling event held by Elite Model Management, an international model management group. It is used to discover and launch female fashion models in the in ...
and Women 360 (W360) added in 2019. Although Elite Model Management North America and Elite World Group share the logo, they have separate ownership and are not part of a business network.
History
Early years
Elite Model Management was founded in Paris in 1972 by
John Casablancas
John Casablancas (December 12, 1942 – July 20, 2013) was an American modeling agent and scout who founded Elite Model Management. Casablancas is remembered for his development of the supermodel concept. He is the father of The Strokes front ...
(1942–2013) and Alain Kittler.
Casablancas was inspired by his then-wife Jeanette Christiansen, former model and Miss Universe from
Denmark
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, to open a model agency. Casablancas founded the model agency with his savings.
Elite Model opened with several high-profile models including
Ingmari Lamy
Ingmari Lamy (nee Johanssen, born 5 August 1947) is a Swedish fashion model who became known in the late 1960s. She has been appeared on the covers of ''Vogue'' and ''Harpers Bazaar''. She was the face of Yves Saint Laurent perfumes for five yea ...
; Ann Schaufuss,
Clive Arrowsmith
Clive Arrowsmith is a London-based photographer.
Works
He has worked for many fashion publications and is one of only a few photographers, including Brian Duffy who have twice been given the commission to shoot the Pirelli Calendar. He curren ...
's girlfriend;
Barry Lategna's wife,
Lynn Kohlman
Lynn Eleanor Kohlman (August 12, 1946—September 14, 2008) was a fashion model, photographer, author, and creative director at DKNY.
Biography
Kohlman was born in Teaneck, New Jersey to Clement Wolfe Kohlman (1916–2000), and his wife, Eleanor ...
; Paula Brenken; and Paris Plannings Emanuelle Dano.
Expansion
At the time, boutique agencies in Paris and Milan fell out of favor with models due to payment issues. Models often found Parisian and Milanese model agencies holding their pay to coerce them into returning without work visas and work. British and American based chains gave models the financial security they needed. In 1977, Casablancas opened up Elite Models in New York. During the 1980s, New York endured the model wars. Despite agencies like
Wilhelmina Models
Wilhelmina International Inc. (NASDAQ: WHLM), formerly Wilhelmina Models, is a full service modeling and talent agency headquartered in New York City, United States. The company also has offices in Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami. Founded in 196 ...
taking part in these wars, the primary battle was between Elite Models and
Ford Models
Ford Models, originally the Ford Modeling Agency, is an American international modeling agency based in New York City. It was established in 1946 by Eileen Ford and her husband Gerard W. Ford.
Company
Ford Models was started in 1946 by Eileen ...
.
Models such as Esmé Marshall left Elite for Ford Models. Casablancas alleged that
Eileen Ford
Eileen ( or ) is an Irish feminine given name anglicised from Eibhlín and may refer to:
People Artists
* Eileen Agar (1899–1991), British Surrealist painter and photographer
*Eileen Fisher (born 1950), clothing retailer and designer
* Eilee ...
was out to get him and Ford responded with a $32.5 million suit. Until 1977, Ford was affiliated with Elite until Elite opened up offices in New York and began stealing Ford's models. Due to the death of
Wilhelmina Cooper
Wilhelmina Gertrud Frieda Cooper (née Behmenburg; 1 May 1939 – 1 March 1980) was a Dutch-American model who began with Ford Models, and at the peak of her success, founded her own agency, Wilhelmina Models, in New York City in 1967. Retriev ...
, models were in a panic bouncing from agency to agency. Even the highest paid black model at the time
Beverly Johnson
Beverly Ann Johnson (born October 13, 1952) is an American model, actress, singer, and businesswoman. Johnson rose to fame when she became the first African-American model to appear on the cover of American ''Vogue'' in August 1974. In 1975, Jo ...
left Elite for Ford, only to return to Elite a week later.
Models such as
Christie Brinkley
Christie Lee Brinkley (née Hudson; born February 2, 1954) is an American model, actress, and entrepreneur. Brinkley gained worldwide fame with her appearances in ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues'', ultimately appearing on an unprecedented ...
and Anna Andersen sued Elite after they exited. In 1981, Elite Models formed a partnership with
Models 1
A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure.
Models c ...
which lasted until 1989. By 1983, Elite established the
Elite Model Look
Elite Model Look (formerly known as Look of the Year from 1983 to 1995) is a yearly fashion modeling event held by Elite Model Management, an international model management group. It is used to discover and launch female fashion models in the in ...
, which was called The Look of the Year, Competition to rival its competitors Ford's Supermodel of the World Contest. The following year, the company expanded its offices in the U.S. with the formation of Elite Models Chicago, Elite Models Atlanta, Elite Models Los Angeles, Elite Models San Francisco, and Elite Models Miami. By 1986, Elite Models had twenty offices worldwide. In 1988, Elite opened offices in Milan.
From 1990 to 1999
Nicholas Farrae later purchased the agency in 1990. Elite World S.A. is the parent company of Elite Model Management (MM). The expansion of Elite Models furthered as Elite Models formed partnerships with already established agencies. In 1990, Elite Models formed a partnership with Model Management Heidi Gross in
Hamburg
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. In 1992,
Munich Models was formed and formed a partnership with Elite MM.
In 1994, Elite MM sought to break into the Asian market and awarded its Greater China rights to Michel Lu. In partnership with him they established Elite Models Hong Kong and China. In 1996, Lu went on to expand Elite MM to
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
that served as a regional office for South East Asia. Similar to their debut in Paris, Elite swept up top local and regional talents such as Charmaine Harn, Junita Simon, Sonia Couling, and Nadya Hatagalung.
In 1999, a film was broadcast by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
showing the President of Elite MM, Gerald Marie, offering an undercover reporter sex for money.
It was later proven that some images had been manipulated and the BBC admitted that its portrayal was unfair and had to make a substantial payout to the model agency
In the wake of this controversy, Casablancas left and formed the John Casablancas Modeling and Career Center in New York.
Elite World S.A.
Elite World SA was incorporated on Dec. 14, 1999 as an umbrella company and for licensing. In 2002 Elite MM, along with several other New York model agencies, was sued for hundreds of millions of dollars in a class action that accused them of fixing fees for the past 30 years. The following year, Elite opened offices in Asia. At the same time, an employee was awarded $5.2 million in a suit concerning passive smoking in the US office of Elite.