Model of disruption

Interesting talk tonight with Anina, the French blogging model, at the LIFT06 pre conference drinks party in Les Enfants Terribles here in Geneva.

As reported previously, her French agency has issued some sort of ultimatum on the lines of stop blogging or stop modeling.

Apparently in modeling you have a 'mother' agency who in turn have satellite agencies, one for each country, eg in France she has (had) Frames whereas in the UK the agency is Isis Models. However, this assumes that you are living and working in one country (If another country wants you - they have to ring your local agency to get your 'card' and if the local agency feels like it you will be released to work in the other country. Supermodels, by the way, have their own private agents.

It is easy to see where the potential disruptive effects of blogging come into play here. As a 'lowly' model, access to you is carefully controlled by your local agency. they decide who and when you work!

Imagine now, that you blog and even worse blog rather well and start to get a name for yourself, especially with techie companies. Your local agency will start to lose control as you are inundated with 'potential' work from foreign agencies. Not only that , shock horror, the foreign companies might realize that models have brains and start to get into contact with you direct so no more little white lies (she's busy unavailable!) from your local agency.

What does this mean, this is the conflict facing Anina. Does she have to accept that she is now a supermodel and needs her own agent or does it mean that the 'mother' agency has to start handling her on a day by day basis or does it mean that she to accept she is a French 'local' model.

As I say interesting.