Answering a Reader Question #653

Anonymous Wrote:

 Hi Dania!

First of all, congrats on your Official Jira Couture New York Ad! I'm so happy for you!

Okay,now, here goes my question!
I have been searching up talent agencies as well as modelling agencies as i want to submit in a modelling application. It's for fit modelling.

Firstly, almost every one of the talent agencies have 'Academy' or 'courses' which says that their talents have to do before they can be out in the real world. The thing is, I don't know if it's normal for talent agencies to have these courses. I've read from your blog that model agencies which tell you to go through their course is a big no no.I'm wondering if this is the same for talent agencies.

Secondly, do talent agencies accept fit modelling application? Most of them talks about TV commercial in their modelling section description. I want to do fit modelling, trying on clothes before they are sent out to shops, that's what I want to do. I don't want to film any TV commercials.

Thank you in advance! You are the best!

Hi, Anonymous!

Thanks for the kind words, I really means a lot! :-)

Agencies that incorporate academies and courses into their business are allowed to so by law because they are following special guideline(s) that prevents them from falling into the "scam" category. As long as they operate within a specific scope and according to the listed regulations of the mainstream entertainment industry they can charge people for their training programs.

For example, Page Parkes in Texas has a huge modeling and acting center but they state on their website that it is actually a separate entity from the Page Parkes Agency and by law defines itself as a training and development company, not an agency.

So it's one of those tedious legal things that allows agencies with academics and courses to operate legally. But there are many "so-called" agencies that don't operate within the legal scope by definition but they appear legit.

When it comes to these types of agencies, the following would signal red flags for me:

- They state that it is mandatory and not optional to take their training classes in order to be represented by their agency
- They use hard pressure sales tactics to get talent to pay for and take their training courses before offering a contract
- They state that if talent doesn't take their courses, they automatically won't be able to consider them for representation

Since you're only interested in fit modeling, all you have to do is stay firm in letting agencies know that's the only category you wish to specialize in. They can't force you to try and take any classes or development training stuff because that's not necessary or required for fit models.

Not all agencies have fit modeling divisions and the ones that do often don't say so on their websites so that does make it difficult for models like yourself to find out whether to submit or not. Since this is a special kind of situation, I would suggest calling the agencies you're interested in and asking if they represent fit models and if so, what the submission guidelines are. Don't forget to mention that you couldn't find this information on their website.

I usually don't advise calling agencies but this is an exception because you obviously can't find the information on your own so it would be okay to call them to ask.

What city/state do you live in? Maybe I can help you find agencies that have fit modeling divisions you can submit to.

Comments

  1. AnonymousAugust 1, 2013 at 4:48 AM

    Thank you so much! Your answer was helpful!
    I live in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. If you could find some agencies for me, that would be so wonderful! Thank you! <3

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dania DeniseAugust 2, 2013 at 10:28 AM

    You're very welcome! Here are the talent and modeling agencies I could find in Brisbane. Their sites didn't specifically mention fit models so just give them a ring and find out if they represent that division and then take things from there:

    Agency 888
    http://vmanagement.com.au

    Boss Models Australia
    http://www.bossmodels.com.au/

    Australian Casting Agency
    http://www.australiancastingagency.com

    Dallys Models
    http://www.dallysmodels.com/default.aspx

    Vivien's Models
    http://www.viviensmodels.com.au

    Tamblyn Models
    http://www.tamblynmodelling.com.au

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousAugust 7, 2013 at 5:49 AM

      Thank you so much! if anything happens, you'll be the first person to know!

      Delete

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