Model Scouting 2018: How Models Are Getting Discovered

The way talent agencies, fashion designers, and stylists find models are changing.

In a recent report by Vogue, modeling professionals shared how scouting in the modeling industry has changed in past few years.

Jeni Rose of IMG Models has worked in the industry since 1994. Rose has overseen the souring and development and international expansion. But, she says there is an increase in diversity. “It’s also a bravery issue. It’s hard to be the first and people don’t feel like they have the power within the industry to initiate change.”

Previously modeling agents would stand outside boy-band concerts to find new models. “Everyone used to go to boy-band concerts and stand outside,” Rose told Vogue. “Scouts were tripping over each other near One Direction gigs! Now we have to be creative.” 

Now, modeling agents are attending “gaming conventions, sneaker launches, and surfing festivals.” Rose explains, “Scouting to a trend doesn’t make a lot of sense either, because those are the models working currently. The development of a model takes so long – up to six or seven years – so I usually have my eye on teenagers.”

Maturity also plays a part when it comes to scouting models. “Most male models stumble into the industry – not a lot of them set out for it,” Rose explained to Vogue. “Young females recognize that it’s a business and understand that it’s really important to get it right from the start. They look back on the era of the supermodel and see that it’s a job, not a hobby.”

When it comes to long-term success, it’s a team effort. “Most of the relevant models don’t go anywhere; it’s the facets of their career that are different,” she notes. “The model that Carolyn Murphy is today, for example, is not the model that she was when she was 16. And that is the genius of the girl and the genius of the management. It really has to be a partnership for models to succeed.”

Related:

• Calvin Klein’s First “Plus-Size Model” Sparks Controversy
• ‘Street Scouting’: The Secret Way Talent Agencies Scam Aspiring Actors
• Los Angeles Entertainment Job Growth Outpaces The Rest of the Country

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