It takes real hustle in the fashion world to reach mononym status. When you hear Anna or Naomi you know to squeal in delight or cower in fear, and industry giants like Storm, Elite and Select have birthed some of the most recognisable faces of our time.
These modelling agencies, despite delivering slews of household names, legs and brows to dominate an industry, have also been subject to criticism for their treatment of unsuspecting young beauties. Rumours are always swirling of the sheer panic scouts experience when their latest find gets a haircut or adds half an inch to their hips, and whispers about talent living out of a suitcase and sharing with unsuspectingly dirty peers.
Ten years ago, Anti-Agency was one of the first agencies formed to to make a difference. Their message was simple: create a space which represents beauty from all types of spaces and walks of life, and treat them with respect. It was out with the traditional beauty standards, and in with the weird and wonderful. Since then, we’ve seen unique businesses like No Agency and Contact crawl out of the woodwork, but Gee Small Faces is a talent management company which has become a force to be reckoned with.
Seasoned and self-assured, it would be nice to know Ms. Small as simply the iconic ‘Gee’. We sat down with her to find out how she built her business brick by brick - or rather - one DM after another…
Let’s get in to it shall we! What made you what to be a scout?
Absolutely nothing - it was a complete accident actually! I started out as a scout, placing talent on Contact, and then became Contact’s top earner every quarter for a full year. Slowly I began to realise that the skill set I had from trying to start my own career as an actor, was transferable to my talent; I could reach out to casting directors and brands and force them to work with me and my talent. To me, it feels more like sending emails to get my friends money, and that’s how I like to run things. In the beginning I was RUTHLESS: Every brand in London has probably received a DM from me. For two years I sent more emails and dms than should be legal, but it worked, and now have working relationships with most of the well known street brands in London. Slay.
Slay indeed! So obviously you’ve got a smaller agency than some of the giants. What edge do boutique agencies have over bigger names like Elite, Select etc
We aren’t scary! The smaller the agency, the more cosy the vibes. I treat my talent (and honestly, my clients) like my best friends. I think we give models the opportunity to feel seen and heard, rather than just being a statistic - They feel this enough from the casting process, they don’t need to feel it from their agency too.
So it’s small and cozy, but how does this translate to clients - do you ever struggle to be taken seriously?
Weirdly no. I think my talent roster is so strong that everyone has been forced to recognise my agency and take it seriously. There is a huge amount of trust in this, especially when I was just starting out - I am so grateful for my models that started with me 4 years ago when I had no idea what the f*ck I was doing. Sometimes I feel like brands take the p*ss when they come in with such low rates, and they think because I am small they can get away with it, but I think this is also just a general trend in fashion. It definitely took time for me to negotiate especially when you’re fearful of losing a client just because you put your foot down.
Do beauty trends ever inform your choices when scouting, or is this fleeting? I just wonder because I’ve noticed that so many models are starting to look like dupes of one another…
Scouting is so insane because it is so subjective. I just know what I like. Beauty trends definitely will come into this, because it is impossible to avoid being saturated by it everywhere I look, but I don’t just sign someone on this basis.
It also makes me physically unwell when I have to “reject” people who apply to sign with me. Like it hurts. I get tonnes of applications which are mind blowing, and part of me is so excited when I go through them and another part of me wants to cry because I hate turning people down. Because I never want to make anyone feel how I have felt for years trying to get myself signed for acting. Getting rejected in these industries where you put yourself in an extremely vulnerable position is brutal and I try to make my responses as kind and honest as I can.
Do you see your models as a canvas or as expressions of their own individuality?
Oh 100% expressions of their individuality, and thankfully I think this is becoming more widespread in the industry. That’s Gee Small Faces. I look for models that could rock up to set as themselves and look more dope than whatever a brand is going to put them in. Period. I look for strong personalities and expression of self: the full painting, not the blank canvas.
What does 'beauty' mean to you?
This is so hard. My relationship with beauty feels like a dichotomy of my own beauty vs beauty in others. I find beauty in other people very easily, but I would feel like a hypocrite with any description that I give because it is not one that I can find in myself. This has been a lifelong process for me; it continues even now.
Famous last words?
Nike knew what was up when they said just do it. Because, just do it. Do the thing. Make something, don’t talk about making it. I’ve been running my own agency for 4 years now because I just did it. I had absolutely no f*cking idea what I was doing. You never do until you do it.
