The beauty of Ugly Models agency
– Long necks, large chins, flapping ears, crooked noses: welcome to Ugly Models, a London modelling agency of a different stripe, where imperfections are celebrated.
Fashion Week opened in the British capital yesterday and among the legions of models strutting down the catwalk, several will come from Ugly.
They make eye-catching additions to the perfectly honed or androgynous models that typically feature at fashion’s annual showcase in London.
“It’s celebrating diversity and bringing a bit more light to fashion instead of just using bog-standard models,” agency owner Marc French said.
He describes Ugly as a “character” model agency, “from fat, thin, to large, to small; you name it, we’ve got it”.
Citing French actor Gerard Depardieu as an example, he said: “He’s so full of character and charisma. He becomes sexy because he’s so cool and so different.”
Ugly Models occupies trendy open-plan space in west London featuring a portrait of late rock superstar David Bowie on a wall
London
alongside the quote “Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius”, which reads like a company motto. French added: “What makes a good Ugly model is someone who is comfortable in his or her own skin. It’s really important. There’s so much pressure on kids.” –