Absolute Interviews Emile Ryan From Brighton On The Launch Of Model Talent UK A New Style Of Model Agency.
1) Explain to myself, the start up of the business and brand ? How did it begin?
I’ve always been super passionate about fashion and events having previously run an events company for ten years. It was through running this business that I was able to further explore my love of fashion, having the opportunity to host multiple fashion shows in Brighton, whilst also promoting fashion themed socialite events, such as ‘Fashionista’ and ‘Debonaire’, at some of the City’s most coveted venues. During this period, I was fortunate to meet some extremely talented creatives as well as lots of aspiring models, actors, musicians and photographers including my now business partner, Ramon. Together, we shared the vision that we wanted to further support the journey of these highly talented people and create a platform for them to realise their full potential. Our strategy would involve utilising our existing extensive network of contacts to help provide them with the work opportunities to thrive and grow. So, the concept of modelling and talent agency, ‘Model Talent UK’, was born and the rest, as they say, is history!
2)
How has the business grown to be where it is now? What has
contributed to your success?
We’ve been really pleasantly surprised with how quickly our modelling agency has grown. We now represent over three hundred models and talent and work with a whole multitude of clients. This accelerated growth culminated in recently having ten of our runway models selected for London Fashion Week, in association with the British Fashion Council. With London Fashion Week being so prestigious and the pinnacle of fashion in the UK, and so revered globally, it was a real honour and privilege to be a part of such a memorable occasion. This is testament to our super dedicated team who are committed to going above and beyond to raising the profile of Model Talent UK, as well as our highly talented and professional models, and our amazingly supportive clients who we are so thankful for. It really is this fabulous blend which is the key to our success.
3)
What inspires you and your team ?
What inspires us each day is the chance to provide potentially life changing opportunities to our models and talent, especially if the modelling assignment is for a huge global brand. We feel very fortunate to work with some truly incredible clients and help bring their creative concepts to fruition. Being able to make such a positive and impactful difference within the fashion industry, especially as a modelling agency which is committed to promoting values of diversity, inclusion, equality and sustainability is also something which inspires us and we are very proud of.
4) Now you have become established in the region, have you worked with any brands or big commissions you can share with us ? Due to the international nature of our modelling agency we’ve been really fortunate to collaborate with some wonderful brands such as GQ South Africa, GUCCI at Milan Fashion Week and VOGUE Netherlands to name a few. Our aim is to continue to grow our client roster internationally, with as much variety as possible, which in turn gives our models and talent even more exciting assignments.
5)
How has the advent of social media impacted on you, I can see from
your online presence you seem to embrace this?
Social media is a fundamental part of the Model Talent UK brand and is an amazing way to, not only engage with our community of models and talent, but also to project our agency’s brand identity to prospective clients. We are very fortunate to have an amazing Creative Director, Hayley, who is super passionate about creating engaging social media content to help raise the agency profile.
6)
What type of fashion styles or brands do you enjoy working with
most ?
We love working with a variety of fresh and innovative fashion brands whether they are globally established or smaller independents and also brands that reflect our core values of diversity, inclusion, equality and sustainability wherever possible. For example, we work with a fabulous brand in Manchester called Ettie Shop, run by Juliette Stephenson, which champions sustainability where all the clothing is made to order with ethically sourced materials. We also work with Fashion Designer, Jose Hendo, who advocates for eco textiles and upcycled garments using Ugandan barkcloth.
7)
How do you stay relevant and current, where do you get your
inspirations from?
The fashion industry is a highly competitive industry so it’s really important the we are constantly evolving and adapting our approach to meet the ever-changing landscape and market needs. The way we do this is to always ensure we deliver an impeccable client service to help build client loyalty. One of our mantras is to ‘work efficiently, never compromising on quality’ which is our commitment to our clients to always work in a way which fulfils their vision by maximising every opportunity and ensuring delivery is always to the highest standard. Being an international modelling agency, we get a lot of our inspiration from our experiences of travelling around the world and using these unique insights to create an overall enriched company ethos and vision.
8) Which project’s are you really excited about for 2023 are there any future plans you can share with us? We are very fortunate to be officially partnered with modelling agencies in Milan, Madrid and Dubai so our plans in 2023 are to further grow our international presence as an agency and continue working on exciting collaborative projects which will enable us to celebrate the internationally rich cultures of the world and continue to champion diversity. In addition, we are in discussions with two couture brands to have some of our models walk the runways of Paris Fashion Week and New York Fashion Week which is very exciting too.
9)
Why are your models and service so different to other businesses
within the industry? Explain to myself what a client of yours gets ?
What makes Model Talent UK unique is our core values of diversity, equality, inclusion and sustainability. We currently represent models and talent from twenty-eight different countries which makes us a truly cosmopolitan modelling agency. Couple this with the fact that, whilst we are an international modelling agency with a global reach, we still maintain a very personalised and bespoke service so that we can be flexible and adaptable for all of our client briefs and their budgetary requirements to ensure that we deliver a tailored package to wow and delight our clients.
10)
How has being based in the south helped your business? Do you feel
the regions high creativity levels have contributed to your further
success?
Being based between Brighton and London we feel very fortunate because there is such an abundance of creative energy, collaborative spirit and sense of community which is really conducive to helping grow a successful business. It’s fantastic to be a part of such an eclectically vibrant and creative region of the UK and long may it continue!
For any Model Talent UK booking enquires please feel free to get in touch. If you’d like to work with our models & talent and promote your brand further, please get in touch by email contact@modeltalent.co.uk or instagram @model_talent_uk.
