Ford Models

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Ford Models, Inc.
legal form Inc.
founding 1946
Seat New York City
Branch Model agency
Website www.fordmodels.com

Ford Models , formerly Ford Modeling Agency , is a modeling agency in New York City . The agency was founded in 1946 by Eileen Ford (née Otte; 1922–2014) and her husband Gerard “Jerry” W. Ford (1924–2008).

history

The Ford couple started booking two New York models. The couple had the business idea shortly before the birth of their first child. Eileen Ford worked as a model, photographer and fashion editor during her studies. The Ford Modeling Agency then also began to charge fees for models that were placed. These fees rose rapidly, so that the models were already earning four-digit dollar fees a day in the 1990s. Beverly Johnson , actress and model, described the pioneering role of the modeling agency for the industry in this regard in her autobiography with the words:

"In a business sense, Ford revolutionized the beauty industry and created the template for the modern, multimillion-dollar modeling agency."

"In a business sense, Ford revolutionized the beauty industry and created the model for the modern multi-million dollar modeling agency."

- Beverly Johnson

From its inception to the time when Elite Model Management spread to the United States in the 1980s, Ford was the dominant modeling agency in the United States. The New York “Modeling Wars” of the 1980s with Elite, however, reduced the company's influence, which since then has largely stood alongside competitors such as Elite, Women Management , IMG Models and DNA Model Management .

In 1996, Katherine "Katie" Ford (* 1955), daughter of Eileen and Jerry Ford, took over management of the company. In 2000 she wanted to sell the majority stake in Ford Models to Magnum Sports & Entertainment Inc. for USD 22 million, but the deal fell through. At the time, many industries shifted their focus to Internet trading. The fashion industry also had to follow.

In 2002, John R. Caplan, previously President of About.com and later founder of the blogger network OpenSky , joined the company as CEO . At the time, Ford Models had annual sales of $ 30 million. Caplan fundamentally optimized the agency's core business. A total of around 65,000 referrals a year could soon be handled in 14 offices worldwide; In addition to arranging hairstylists, make-up artists, photographers and other so-called "Ford Artists", around 2,200 models every year. In addition, the headquarters were relocated so that the 90 New York bookers were closer to the media and fashion scene, and a contemporary booking system was introduced. To get into the new media , he brought Mitchell "Mitch" Grossbach on board, who was then Vice President for Business Development at Interface Software Inc., where he dealt with the area of customer relationship management . In addition to conventional photos and catalogs, he saw an opportunity in using the video medium for the company, initially in the casting area . In late 2005, NBCUniversal's Jordan Hoffner tried in vain to convince Caplan to cooperate with the television station by presenting the Ford models in television shows. A year later, when Hoffner was already working at Google , another meeting took place. This gave rise to the idea of ​​showing the models away from the catwalk and the shooting business in so-called “Ford videos” on the YouTube internet platform . Caplan's restructuring and modernization measures were successful. When he left the company as CEO in 2009, annual sales were approximately $ 130 million.

Altpoint Capital Partners LLC now holds the majority share in the company with 93%. Altpoint Capital is a company owned by ex- Merrill Lynch banker and Interros employee Guerman Aliev (* 1970) from Moscow , who is the chairman of the board of directors at Ford Models.

Agencies and models

In addition to the New York headquarters, Ford Models has agencies in Los Angeles , Chicago , Miami , Paris ( Ford Models Europe ; since 1995) and in São Paulo ( Ford Models Brasil ; since 2016).

Models represented by Ford included or include Twiggy , Elle Macpherson , Christie Brinkley , Chanel Iman , Ali Larter, and Christy Turlington .

Eileen Ford has hosted the “ Supermodel of the World ” competition since 1980 , the winner of which at the international finals received a model contract for USD 250,000 with the agency.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Company Overview of Ford Models, Inc. Bloomberg .
  2. ^ Robert Lacey: How Ford Models Changed the Face of Beauty. Vanity Fair , May 27, 2015.
  3. ↑ Eric Wilson: Jerry Ford, 83, Man Behind the Models, Dies. Obituary in the New York Times , Aug. 26, 2008.
  4. ↑ Eileen Foord: Eileen Ford's Book of Model Beauty. Simon & Schuster , New York 1968, pp. 1-5. ISBN 978-0-671-22260-4
  5. ↑ Gesa Mayr : Eileen Ford is dead - the mother animal of the models. Panorama, Spiegel Online , July 11, 2014.
  6. ↑ Modeling and Models. In: Victoria Sherrow: For Appearance 'Sake: The Historical Encyclopedia of Good Looks, Beauty, and Grooming. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001, p. 197. ISBN 978-1-573-56204-1
  7. ↑ Beverly Johnson: The Face That Changed It All: A Memoir. Simon & Schuster, New York 2015, p. 49. ISBN 978-1-476-77441-1 .
  8. ↑ Lisa Santandrea: How Eileen Ford Ruled New York's Modeling Wars. The Daily Beast , Aug. 26, 2015.
  9. ^ A b David H. Freedman: A Digital Makeover for the Modeling Business - How Ford Models became the hottest thing on YouTube. Inc. , February 1, 2008.
  10. ↑ a b J.J. Colao: Four Years And $ 50 Million Later, Has OpenSky Cracked The Code For Social Commerce? Forbes , September 18, 2013.
  11. ↑ Ford Models. Inc. , plunkettresearch.com; accessed on November 1, 2016.
  12. ↑ Katya Wachtel: Meet The Russian Fund Manager And Former Merrill Banker Who Gets Paid To Manage Supermodels. Business Insider, March 3, 2011.
  13. ^ Ford Models Europe , Bloomberg.
  14. ↑ Kate Storey: 29 celebs who became super stars from Ford Models. New York Post , July 11, 2014.