Ford Models, originally the Ford Modeling Agency, is an American international
modeling agency
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 b ...
based in New York City. It was established in 1946 by
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 ...
Ford Models was started in 1946 by Eileen and Gerard W. "Jerry" Ford. Ford was the first company to advance their models' money-owed by jobs that had been completed but not yet paid. The Ford family had the tradition of allowing teenage models who originated far from New York City to stay in their home.
The company was the pre-eminent New York agency until John Casablancas of
Elite Model Management
Elite Model Management (MM) refers to two independent chain modeling agencies that originated as one in Paris, France in 1972 with subsequent locations in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London and Toronto. In 2004, the agencies in New York, Miami, ...
opened up in the city, leading to the "model wars" of the 1980s. Ford, like many of the original agencies of the 1970s, now has to compete with a broad field of contenders, such as
Women
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...
,
IMG img or IMG is an abbreviation for image.
img or IMG may also refer to:
* IMG (company), global sports and media business headquartered in New York City but with its main offices in Cleveland, originally known as the "International Management Group ...
and DNA.
The agency has represented a diverse list of models and celebrities. In 1980, the company established the Ford Supermodel of the World Contest, which attracted more than 60,000 hopefuls annually from around the world. Today, the contest lives on in the form of the annual V/VMan Ford Model Search run in conjunction with the two Visionaire publications.
History
Eileen and Jerry began the business in their home. Their daughter Katie Ford took over in 1995 after working in the agency for 16 years.
In December 2000 Magnum Sports and Entertainment signed a letter of intent to acquire Ford, but the transaction fell through. The Fords sold a stake of their agency in December 2007 to private equity firm Stone Tower Equity Partners. The firm was renamed Altpoint Capital Partners in 2009. Altpoint is operated by managing partner Gerald Banks, also known as Guerman Aliev, and owned and funded by Russian oligarch
Vladimir Potanin
Vladimir Olegovich Potanin (russian: Владимир Олегович Потанин; born 3 January 1961) is a Russian billionaire businessman. He acquired his wealth notably through the controversial loans-for-shares program in Russia in ...
through his holding company
Interros
Interros is a Russian conglomerate controlled by Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanin with large stakes in mining, metals, energy, finance, retail, real estate and other sectors. The company's headquarters are located in Moscow.
Origins
The compan ...
. In January 2011 Altpoint increased its stake in Ford Models to 93%. In May 2020 Ford Models Brasil purchased Ford Models from Altpoint amidst uncertainty related to covid-accelerated industry digitalization and the lack of a CEO at Ford Models for a number of months.
In 2007, John Caplan became Ford Models' chief executive officer.
In the 2000s, the company diversified through Ford Artists to represent talent in the hair, makeup and wardrobe industries. It has also promoted itself through its social media platform, which includes the Ford Models Blog, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. Ford Models has also lent its name to an imprint of
Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
books, which created a series of teen novels that served to try and glamorize working with the agency.
The company also diversified into the art gallery business under the leadership of chairman Guerman Aliev in 2011.
In 2019 Ford Models sued a former executive, claiming she invented a story about her husband having a terminal illness in order to have the company agree to render null the non-compete clause of her employment contract. Ford Models charged that among other things the executive was liable to forfeiture of her compensation back to the company, inasmuch as she had been a "
faithless servant
The faithless servant doctrine is a doctrine under the laws of a number of states in the United States, and most notably New York State law, pursuant to which employees who act unfaithfully towards their employers must forfeit to their employers a ...
."
In September 2019, the executive filed a countersuit against Ford Models, claiming that the chairman Gerald Banks (Guerman Aliev) had been spending company funds inappropriately for years, and that by July 2019, Ford had over $8 million in debt. She further claimed that she had quit when she realized Banks and Ford Models owner
Vladimir Potanin
Vladimir Olegovich Potanin (russian: Владимир Олегович Потанин; born 3 January 1961) is a Russian billionaire businessman. He acquired his wealth notably through the controversial loans-for-shares program in Russia in ...
had close ties with Russian President
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
.
In May 2020, Ford Models Brasil acquired Ford Models, with Decio Restelli Ribeiro set to be the CEO of the talent management agency.
Ford Artists and Ford Models
In recent years the company has diversified into other professions related to the fashion industry through Ford Artists. They represent hair stylists, makeup artists, manicurists, stylists, set designers, prop stylists, art directors, and photographers. Ford Artists locations include Chicago and Los Angeles.
In addition to the New York City headquarters, Ford Models has offices in Paris, Los Angeles, Miami, and Chicago.
Sigrid Agren
Sigrid Agren is a French model from Martinique, who rose to prominence during the Elite Model Look in 2006.
Early life
Agren was born and raised in Martinique, to a Swedish father and a French mother. She entered the Elite Model Look in France ...
*
Monica Aksamit
Monica Aksamit (born February 18, 1990) is an American Olympic saber fencer. She represented the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics, earning a bronze medal in the Women's Saber Team competition. She won a gold medal with Team USA at t ...
Alex Binaris
Alexandra Binaris is a South African fashion model.
Early life
Alexandra Binaris is of Greek, Portuguese, Spanish and German descent, and grew up in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Before pursuing modelling professionally, she stud ...
*
Kacey Carrig
Kacey Carrig (born April 10, 1992) is an American model.
Career
Carrig was raised in Shamong Township, New Jersey. During his college education he decided to pursue a modelling career and contacted some agencies. Ford agency asked him to enter th ...
*
Estelle Chen
Estelle Chen (born 4 March 1998) is a French-Chinese model.
Early life
Estelle Chen was born in Paris to Chinese parents from Wenzhou, a city in Zhejiang province.
Estelle was scouted by an agent of Elite Model Management in 2012. In 2013, she ...
*
Oliver Cheshire
Oliver Luke Cheshire (born 3 June 1988) is an English fashion model, designer and fashion entrepreneur.
Career
Cheshire was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire and grew up in Hitchin. His father was a fireman and Oliver aspired to be a firef ...
*
Sora Choi
Sora Choi (Korean: 최소라; born September 5, 1992) is a South Korean fashion model. She won the third cycle of the reality television show '' Korea's Next Top Model''. She currently ranks on models.com's "Industry Icons" list.
Early li ...
*
Hailey Clauson
Hailey Michele Clauson (born March 7, 1995) is an American model. In 2016, she was one of three separate cover stars of the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue''.
Career
Clauson was discovered on an open casting call in Los Angeles, of which F ...
Daniel Di Tomasso
Daniel di Tomasso (born 30 January 1983) is a Canadian actor. In 2013, he began starring as a series regular in the television drama series ''Witches of East End'', as Killian Gardiner. Di Tomasso also appeared on ''Beauty and the Beast'', ''Gr ...
*
Cora Emmanuel
Cora Emmanuel (born 1 October 1992) is a French fashion model.
Early life
Her father is a former architect and current architecture teacher; her mother is a history and geography teacher. She has an older sister and younger half-brother.
Caree ...
*
Kelly Gale
Kelly Olivia Gale (born 14 May 1995) is a Swedish model of Indian and Australian descent. Gale is known globally for her work for Victoria's Secret, the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'', and ''Playboy'', as well as being featured in the mus ...
*
David Gandy
David James Gandy (born 19 February 1980) is an English male fashion model who began his career after winning a televised model-search competition. For several years, Gandy was the lead male model for Italian designers Dolce & Gabbana who featur ...
Hannah Motler
Hannah Elizabeth Motler is a British fashion model.
Career
Motler was discovered at age 12, by Premier Model Management while at a One Direction concert in Manchester. Her first show was for Calvin Klein. In her debut season she also walked ...
*
Alison Nix
Alison Nix (born June 19, 1988) is an American fashion model. She has modeled for Dior, Hugo Boss, Givenchy, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Vivienne Westwood, Diane von Fürstenberg, Dolce & Gabbana, Hussein Chalayan, Jean Paul Gaultier, John Galliano ...
Giselle Norman
Giselle Isabella P. Norman is an English fashion model.
Early life
Norman is the oldest of four girls. She grew up in Petworth, West Sussex.
Career
After struggling academically, Norman decided to drop out of Bryanston School and model fu ...
*
Andreja Pejić
Andreja Pejić (; formerly Andrej Pejić, born 28 August 1991) is an Australian model and actress. Since coming out as a trans woman in 2013, she has become one of the most recognisable transgender models in the world.
Early life
Pejić was bo ...
*
Tyson Ritter
Tyson Jay Ritter (born April 24, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actor, and model. He is best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, pianist, and songwriter of the multi-platinum selling American alternative rock band The All-A ...
*
Charo Ronquillo
Charo Ronquillo (born April 22, 1990, in Cabuyao City, Laguna, Philippines) is a Filipino fashion model.Miriam Sánchez
*
Paul Sculfor
Paul Sculfor (born 1 February 1971) is a British male model as well as a TV and film actor.
Background
Between the ages of eight to ten, Sculfor studied gymnastics, and when he was 10, he joined the Dagenham Boxing Club. He had one competit ...
List of 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.
Modeling agencies
See also
* ...