Modeling: More Than A Pretty Face

Modeling Is More Than A Pretty Face

An interview full of advice with Michael Flutie

The modeling profession is an ever-changing world especially in these turbulent times. It is closely linked to the acting industry thanks to the magic of Hollywood and movies. One of the most amazing changes is that today celebrities, who are well below what has been the required height for runway models, walk on the runway, have their designs shown on the runway and sit around the runway as part of the audience.
Every year the competition becomes stronger as thousands of young men and women pursue this career. It is a multibillion-dollar business in which professionalism is a must; this means being punctual, considerate, prepared and reliable. This dream career is an exciting, risky, glamorous, ugly business and the financial rewards can be enormous. Education is the key to success. Common sense and strong moral values are also necessary.
My longtime friend, New Yorker Michael Flutie has worked in virtually every aspect of the modeling and acting industries over the last thirty years. In 1982 he moved to Paris to work at Elite Model Management alongside the iconic founder John Casablancas. He worked with top models including Stephanie Seymour and Cindy Crawford. Then he moved to City Models which was run by former model Louise Despointes. In 1990 he returned to New York and opened his own agency, Company. He became a talent manager representing actors, actresses, singers, dancers, musicians and later added publisher to his titles.
Michael was very generous with his time and knowledge when I talked to him during a business trip which he was making in Los Angeles, to promote his latest venture. I was anxious to hear his opinions on changes that have taken place, how he had kept pace with them and his vision for the future. I was also anxious to hear his advice for newcomers and their parents. He told me, “There is always an element of wait and see when it comes to predictions for the future in this industry. There are also many indicators and my indicators started telling me almost twenty years ago that the traditional way of representing talent and models was already changing. There were two major, parallel cultural events that happened. There was the obsession with celebrities and their lives and their appearances on the cover and inside magazines. Prior to the nineties, models ruled the world. As we moved on, actors and actresses broke away from the strong hold their studios had on them. When they realized they needed the studios’ box office strength, and musicians and singers realized they needed to keep up record sales, they knew it was necessary to expose themselves to the public eye. That is how they became personas with whom people could identify. Madonna was one of the first of these celebrities. It was obvious that the paparazzi had become a big movement in the zeitgeist of pop culture.”

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