TOP 5 MODEL AGENCIES

Elite Model Management is a large modeling agency with its headquarters in New York City. It is a subsidiary of Elite World SA, which is based in Paris. Elite was founded by John Casablancas and Alain Kittler in Paris in 1972 and was by bought Nicholas Farrae in 1990. Elite manages over 800 models from all over the world and can also provide international coverage through the 36 agencies in its network. Elite Model Look, its modeling competition with over 350,000 contestants in more than 55 countries, is an annual event that scouts for and launches new models.

Elite represents or has represented such notable models as Carol Alt, Alessandra Ambrosio, Tyra Banks, Gisele Bündchen, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Karen Elson, Eva Herzigova, Angelika Kallio, Liya Kibede, Heidi Klum, Adriana Lima, Elle Macpherson, Paulina Porizkova, Huggy Ragnarsson, Coco Rocha, Stephanie Seymour, and Tatiana Sorokko.

The Ford Modeling Agency, or Ford Models, as it is now more frequently known, is a modeling agency based in New York City with offices worldwide. It was established in 1946 by Eileen Ford and her husband Gerard W. “Jerry” Ford. One of the first modeling agencies, Ford was also the first to pay its models for completed jobs before the agency itself had been remunerated. Teenage models who were far away from home were traditionally invited to stay with the Ford family. 

Ford was “the” New York modeling agency until Elite under John Casablancas opened a local office in 1977, ultimately resulting in the “model wars” of the 1980s. Like many of the original agencies of the 1970s, Ford must now compete with numerous other agencies such as Women, IMG, and DNA.

The agency has represented countless models and celebrities. In 1980 it launched the Ford Supermodel of the World Contest, which still attracts over 60,000 candidates from around the world every year.

The Ford couple began the business in their home, and their daughter Katie Ford took over as CEO in 1995 after working in the agency for 16 years. She was succeeded in 2007 by John Caplan. After leaving the company, Katie Ford went on to become Global Ambassador for Free the Slaves, an anti slavery/anti human-trafficking non-profit organization.

In recent years the agency has diversified into media (through Ford Media) and other professions related to the fashion industry (through Ford Artists).

IMG Models is among the leading international modeling agencies. Its head office is in New York City, with branches in Hong Kong, London, Milan, and Paris. It is a division of IMG (International Management Group) originally based in Cleveland, now in New York City. The agency represents some of the world’s most sought-after models, including Tyra Banks, Gisele Bündchen, Heidi Klum, and Kate Moss.

Models 1 Agency is a modeling agency that was founded in 1968 with only three models on its books. It has since grown to become one of the leading, most respected agencies in the world forty years later.

Models 1 developed its reputation by helping the young persons it discovers build their careers: many have attained overwhelming success and international prominence. The agency has represented Naomi Campbell, Andrew Cooper, Will Chalker, Cindy Crawford, Agyness Deyn, Linda Evangelista, Jerry Hall, Yasmin Le Bon, Kate Moss, Tom Warren, and Twiggy.

Wilhelmina Models is a modeling agency that was founded by the Dutch-born model Wilhelmina Cooper and her husband Bruce Cooper in Manhattan in 1967. The agency has offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami.

Horst-Dieter Esch bought Wilhelmina Models in 1988 for US$5 million and later made his daughter Natasha Esch president of the agency for her twenty-first birthday. A close look at the profession was revealed in The Wilhelmina Guide to Modeling, published in 1996 by Simon & Schuster, New York.

In 2004, Wilhelmina Models signed a license agreement with Modelogic Agency, based in Virginia, USA, and the latter became an affiliate called Modelogic Wilhelmina. Within the same year, Wilhelmina Models formed a second division called Wilhelmina Image to serve as its scouting/development program.

Evolution, an agency based in Charlotte, North Carolina and founded by Scott Cooper, became affiliated with Wilhelmina Models in 2007, adopting the name Wilhelmina-Evolution. 

Since 2008, the president of Wilhelmina Models, Sean Patterson, has been on the judging panel of She's Got the Look, a modeling-competition reality show (aired on American channel TV Land) featuring twenty women aged 35 and over. The finalist wins a modeling contract with Wilhelmina and a photo spread in Self magazine.

In February 2009, the company was acquired by New Century Equity Holdings Corp, a publicly traded company. New Century subsequently changed its name to Wilhelmina International, Inc.

In June 2009, Wilhelmina came to an agreement with The Harman Agency, founded by Kelli Harman and based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to form Wilhelmina PA. Wilhelmina Models still enters into licensing agreements with agencies in the USA and in other successful international markets, e.g. Italy and Panama. Licensed Wilhelmina International agencies are sources of new faces for the New York, Los Angeles, and Miami offices and help preserve the position of Wilhelmina as a leading modeling agency worldwide.