Your story is an interesting one , being discovered on a crosstown bus in Manhattan many years ago . As your career has developed , how different is the plus size modeling industry today than it was when you first started ?
Everything has completely shifted ! In this new reality of social media frenzy , we no longer see ourselves tied to an agency in the sense of needing one to be successful . There are a lot of very talented people who no longer need a narrow minded set of agents to catapult them into stardom . Agents have now begun to scramble to be on and know how to monetize this social media wave . A girl ’ s popularity on social media is definitely a new reality for agencies as well . The ones who don ’ t , lose incredible amounts of earnings . This business has shifted and morphed incredibly !
How have you seen the standards for models change ?
While aspiring girls can only title themselves as “ professional models ” once they have serious plusmodelmag . com 6.16 # plusmodelmag inspiration + style bookings with reputable clients , they no longer need agencies as much to be discovered by those very clients . The demands for what is needed to be a model has also changed as the greater percentage of companies no longer want just a pretty face , but someone liked and relatable on social media networks . Clients want girls who show serious work , professional images and are liked by the public . It ’ s no longer tied to measurements and pre-requisites demanded by agencies .
The mechanism has changed in such powerful ways that the agencies that don ’ t catch up lose the most powerful earners . The reality now is that a contract with a model who holds a strong number of followers and has a strong influence over the buying costumer earns far more than a model who doesn ’ t .
What was your first big break in the industry and what did you learn from it ?