From Natalia Bryant to Amanda Gorman, new models aren’t just pretty faces

Just a few years ago, fashion headhunters looked for models on the street. Thus, for example, Irina Shayk’s career began in Moscow. Then with the irruption of social networks and especially Instagram, agencies dived into them. Now the most prestigious firms in the sector are looking at other profiles of women, inspiring young people who know how to transmit values. Pretty faces and statuesque bodies are not so necessary anymore. The IMG agency, one of the most important in the sector, which represents catwalk stars such as Bella or Gigi Hadid already influencers like Chrissy Teigen, she is one of the first to join this new trend. In just one month, Natalia Bryant, the eldest daughter of the basketball player who died a year ago, has signed the poet Amanda Gorman and Ella Emhoff, the stepdaughter of US Vice President Kamala Harris.

“I’ve always been interested in fashion from a very young age,” Kobe Bryant’s 18-year-old daughter said in a statement. “I love the industry and since I can remember I have wanted to model. There is a lot to learn, but I think this is a great opportunity to express myself creatively ”. Her mother, Vanessa Bryant, also shared the original IMG ad on her Instagram Stories and added a GIF that read “I’m so proud of you.” Natalia shared her mother’s post and added: “Thank you mom.”

On January 20, Amanda Gorman became one of the main protagonists of the inauguration of the president of the United States Joe Biden thanks to her poem entitled The Hill We Climb which he recited during the ceremony. But the fashion world was also struck by her yellow Prada coat, which she paired with an XXL red satin headband. Hours later, Gorman received another offer from IMG Models to enter an industry where its influence has already been noted with the increase in sales of yellow coats. The 22-year-old author and activist made history as the youngest poetess to attend a presidential inauguration and has become a true mass phenomenon. Last Sunday she also became the first poet to participate in the Super Bowl. In addition, he has obtained a publishing contract to publish a hardcover version of his collection of poems next spring with Penguin Children and two other books of his, which have not yet seen the light of day, climbed in a matter of hours to the first position of the best sellers. on Amazon even though they are on pre-sale.

Ella Emhoff, the 21-year-old stepdaughter of US Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband’s daughter, Doug Emhoff, is another rising star in the world of new models. He has signed a contract with IMG Models. “It is no longer about shape, size or gender,” he told the newspaper. The New York Times Ivan Bart, president of IMG Models. “She knows how to communicate in this moment, in this time. It exudes cheek and joy ”. Bart added that when he saw Ella in a shiny Miu Miu signature coat on Capitol Hill during his stepmother and President Biden’s oath he thought, “Wow, she’s communicating fashion.”

Emhoff has long been closely associated with the fashion industry. She is currently a senior at New York’s prestigious Parsons School of Design, studying fine arts with a focus on textiles. She has also modeled “on and off” for the past several years with a smaller agency, according to the Times. Ella Emhoff already produces her own knitwear and is famous for her crocheted bucket hats and cardigans Y shorts of basketball that he promotes through Instagram. He garnered attention when he wore a Frankie Shop pinstripe suit to the Delaware election party. For the inauguration, she opted for the now famous Miu Miu checkered coat with diamonds and was declared one of the most elegant of the act. She, who also interned for fashion brand ALC, prefers the colorful clothes of Tyler McGillivary and her fellow student Bailee Mylin.

IMG Models is one of the heavyweights in the sector. Bart has been there since 1994, when he entered as creative director; He became president eight years ago, although the company was founded in 1987. It has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, London, Milan and even Sydney. His first big signings were Tyra Banks, Gisele Bündchen or Kate Moss. But the agency has lost one of them this week. Gisele Bündchen has decided to leave after 22 years of exclusivity with this company. The 40-year-old supermodel has decided to run her representation personally with the help of her twin sister Patricia, who also works as her manager.

However, the agency is not only looking for new faces but also seasoned veterans. For this reason, they have hired Milla Jovovich, who already belonged to this firm in the past.