Faith Kates - Founder and Owner of Next ModelsFaith Kates, Next's owner and one of the most successful agents in the industry, tells us about the company and what it takes to remain on top. Author: Jonathan.L - Owner Models Observer November 2006 * Faith, could you please tell us about your background and the beginning of Next? Before starting Next in 1989 I worked for Wilhelmina it was at the time when Willy had passed away and all the agents and models had left. I was hired to begin a new division which was securing Models for fashion shows. There were so many obstacles I had to maneuver around, as Wilhelmina didn't have very many models at the time and they were having problems with clients as well, so I went out and overhauled the agency. We found new girls made an alliance with a very "Cool" agency in France and the rest is history. * Who are Next's leading models today? Which of their recent achievements/campaigns you are very proud of? I am proud of all the models we represent. But we just signed Anja Rubik to be the New Face of Estee Lauder; Filippa is the Face of Ralph Lauren, Molly Sims and Joy Bryant both have Cover Girl contracts and Petra Nemcova with her recovery and continued success with her Happy Hearts Foundation, which helps children in countries with natural disasters. * What are the key success factors of your firm that enable it to stay at the top for such a long time? Being fair. * What qualities should a successful agent possess? Patience, patience and more patience. It takes time to be an agent you have to find a balance between the model and the client. * Describe the relationship that should exist between a model and her agency. A very strong one, one she can call upon 24/7. * Let's say you have scouted an amazing girl in Texas. How do you decide which branch of your powerful network will start marketing her? It really depends on what kind of girl we find in Texas. If she is a girl we find could be cutting edge and modern we might bring her to New York or Paris or London. If she is a bit more commercial, Los Angeles or Miami. * How do marketing supermodels and managing their careers differ from marketing and managing careers of new faces? Completely different, New Faces need to learn to be models it requires so much work it's not take a picture and tomorrow you are on the cover of Vogue, you teach them, how to dress, groom them, style them. As for Super Models or all models they need a lot of time as once we get them to a certain level it's the challenge of keeping them there. * Last month a storm erupted in the fashion industry, after the organizers of Madrid Fashion Week have announced that extremely thin models will not take part in fashion shows. What is your opinion and what do you predict - is there a place for fuller models on runway? I don't think that there will be plus size models on the runway. * Next seems very innovative. For example, back then in 1995 you were the first agency to distribute interactive CD-ROM featuring full-motion video for model selection, supplementing the traditional promotional book. Would you say Next is still innovative today? We are very innovative always on the cutting edge our first piece we ever did was art directed by Fabien Baron, and other things we have done have been done with Doug Lloyd, who is the genius behind all the New Gucci campaigns. * What are the future challenges for Next? You will have to wait and see. * Special thanks to Laura Fischer and Nikolina Dosen for arranging the interview with Faith Kates. Next's websites: New York - Los Angeles - Miami , Paris - London , Toronto - Montreal |