Modeling agencies adapt to evolving market

Warsaw may not have the catwalks and fashion industry of Milan, Paris or London, but according to most fashion insiders, one thing it does have is an abundance of beautiful women. Since the mid-1990s, scores of mainly Polish-run modeling agencies have popped up in Warsaw and nationally to promote and market their models here and abroad for catwalk, magazine and advertising work. But despite the high number of agencies, there are only a handful that offer international-standard services, according to Marta Kalinowska, a stylist for the women's magazine Twój Styl. Those that have international ties immediately send their models to work abroad, thereby creating huge demand back home for big-name Polish models, such as Karolina Malinowska, who works for Warsaw-based Models Plus. "The best Polish girls tend to work abroad and booking them for the brief period they are back in Warsaw is always difficult," Kalinowska said. "This is why we sometimes like to use smaller, regional agencies that aren't as well established. There are many with great girls, and often they are far easier to work with." But developing a model's career internationally is still a good business strategy for Polish agencies, which can claim up to 10% of their models' earnings while they work for another agency.

Agents say that sending models abroad is a priority since Warsaw's modeling scene is woefully undeveloped compared to the major fashion capitals. Sending top models to Milan, Paris or New York is vital to their career development, they said. "But at the same time, from a Warsaw agent's point of view, the scene is developed just enough, especially for advertising work," said Joanna Brych, the owner of JMB Models, which works with Milan-based agency Ricardo Gay and has up to 60 models on its books. Brych set up JMB Models seven years ago when the market was considerably less crowded. "It was only about four years ago that the industry became far more established," Brych said. "But today there is more and more work for the models, although the wages have dropped, especially for advertising work." Dariusz Komusa, the managing director of Models Plus, agreed that while the market is still evolving, it depends entirely on advertising. "Most of our business comes from commercials," Komusa said. "We couldn't exist just from magazine work. There is more work than before, but there are also more models than before so the market has become much tighter." Five years ago, Polish models could expect to earn up to zł. 40,000-zł. 60,000 a day. That sum has since plunged to zł. 10,000-zł. 15,000 a day. "Of course it all depends on the category of model, but clients today don't care anymore about famous names; they are more concerned if it's a good girl who is well-known within the industry," Brych said.

Most agencies have seen their profits fall along with slumping paychecks for models; however, some were surprised by how little they had actually suffered from the worldwide slump in advertising. Some said their volume of work had even increased. Irek Kamieniak, who cofounded the Warsaw-based modeling agency Orange with ex-model Monika Smolicz in 2000, was optimistic that the work would continue to flow. "The fashion market is really developing here and more and more fashion houses are choosing to create domestic campaigns, such as Artisti Italiani, which chose one of our girls," he said. "The advertising slump totally passed us by … I guess you need to know who to call. I just hope wages remain at the same level as now." Most top agency directors, however, agreed that the amount of work they can get for their models is what distinguishes them from the fly-by-night agencies. "Good agencies promote all their girls, and invest equally in getting them all work," JMB Models' Brych said. "We have girls who have been very successful with us, but missed out on a lot of work by wasting time with unprofessional agencies." But even the top agencies can get it wrong sometimes, such as investing in models the market doesn't take to, Kamieniak said. Good scouting is equally important to stay ahead of the competition by generating new faces. Self-promotion is also essential, as is organizing modeling competitions. Most of the time, though, it's simply about luck. "You can develop an eye, but you can never be 100% sure that a girl you pick will succeed," Brych said. "It's also very important that girls satisfy character requirements as well as aesthetics, which is more difficult to detect."