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 ...

and her husband

Gerard W. Ford Gerard William "Jerry" Ford (October 2, 1924 – August 24, 2008) was an American businessman who in 1946 founded Ford Modeling Agency with his wife Eileen Ford in their apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. Life For ...

Company

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 Agency may refer to: Organizations * Institution, governmental or others ** Advertising agency or marketing agency, a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients ** Employment agency, a business that ...

until John Casablancas of Elite Model Management 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 Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...

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 co ...

. 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." 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

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.

Ford models

Ford's clients currently include:Actors-Women, FORD/RBA (Scottsdale)
*

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 ...

* Charlene Almarvez *

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 studi ...

* Kacey Carrig * Estelle Chen * Oliver Cheshire * Sora Choi * Hailey Clauson *

Cintia Dicker Cintia Schneider Dick (born 6 December 1986), known as Cintia Dicker, is a Brazilian model and actress. Career She has appeared in advertisements for Ann Taylor, Macy's, L'Oréal, American Eagle Outfitters, Tom Ford, Wildfox Couture, and Y ...

* Daniel Di Tomasso *

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 *

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 ...

* Kris Grikaite *

Kenya Kinski-Jones Kenya Julia Niambi Sarah Jones (born February 9, 1993), known professionally as Kenya Kinski-Jones, is an American fashion model. Early life and education Jones was born in Los Angeles, California to American musician Quincy Jones and German a ...

Sui He Sui He (, born September 23, 1989) is a Chinese model and actress. She was the first East Asian model to open a Ralph Lauren runway show and the second model of Chinese descent to walk in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Sui He also appeared ...

* Brad Kroenig * Alexandra Micu * Hannah Motler * Alison Nix * Radhika Nair * Giselle Norman * Andreja Pejić *

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 * 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 ...

Evandro Soldati Evandro Soldati (born April 17, 1985) is a Brazilian model. According to Forbes, he was the 7th most successful male model in the world in 2008. Biography Soldati was born in Ubá, Minas Gerais. He is of Italian descent. Evandro appears in the ...

Hana Soukupová Hana Soukupová (born 18 December 1985) is a Czech model. She has participated in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Shows and modelled for the Victoria's Secret catalog. Early life Soukupová was born on 18 December 1985 in Karlovy Vary, Czechoslov ...

Fran Summers Francesca Summers is a British fashion model. She has been on the covers of ''British Vogue'', ''Vogue Italia'', and '' American Vogue''. Early life Summers was born in Richmond, Yorkshire, England, to Keith and Sandra Summers, who own a floo ...

Caroline Trentini Caroline Aparecida Trentini (born 6 July 1987) is a Brazilian model. Early life Trentini was born in Panambi, Brazil. Trentini is the youngest daughter of Lourdes and Jacó Trentini, who died when she was one year old. Her older sisters are ...

* Maddy Belle

References

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External links

Ford Models
on archive.org * http://fordrba.com/
Ford Models Blog

Ford Artists

Ford Models – New York
in the

Fashion Model Directory The Fashion Model Directory (FMD) is an online database of information about fashion models, modelling agencies, fashion labels, fashion magazines, fashion designers, and fashion editorials. FMD has been described as "the IMDb of the fashion ...