PRM Agency’s John Bruce and Paulo Ribeiro
Co- founders of PRM Agency
Fiancés John Bruce and Paulo Ribeiro launched their Londonbased model agency Paulo Ribeiro Management ( PRM) in 2012. They discuss the changing world of fashion, the gender pay gap and working together.
How did you get into fashion?
Paulo: I started at the London College of Fashion. I left fashion design because I couldn’t find a proper position so I had to look into other things. PRM wasn’t planned, it just happened.
John: Straight out of high school. I started modelling at the age of 18 in South Africa but got a part- time job in the office, which eventually led to full- time booking career.
So, quite a short modelling career?
J: Yes, I didn’t like it.
What’s it like working together?
P: It isn’t easy because we have different visions in things and we do have arguments every day, sometimes a few times a day!
J: Paulo never worked in another model agency, that makes a big difference. I’ve worked in two in London so I’ve had firsthand experience.
P: He knows the practical things about running the agency, whereas I know about clothing and model fittings. It’s not just about finding a model with a pretty face.
J: We have our ups and downs but at the end of the day, when we go home, we are best friends.
What’s PRM’s unique selling point?
J: We didn’t want to be a big agency, we just wanted to be a well- known, respected, wholesome boutique agency. I’ve worked at the big agencies and I felt the need to just give a little bit more time to the people I represent, actually turn modelling jobs into careers.
P: Last year, we represented five ex- refugees from South Sudan. That opened up a world of opportunities: two of them have done campaigns for Burberry and Victoria Beckham.
What are clients looking for in 2020?
J: There is so much diversity that people don’t know what they really want! You can get a brief looking for a blonde and within 30 minutes it’s changed and they are open to everything. We are in the middle of preparing for Fashion Week and it’s a mix of nationalities and ethnicities.
How do you discover models?
J: It’s important to do the street scouting, we go to the festivals looking for new faces, that’s a big percentage of our job. It’s better for us to have as many UK- based models as possible, but we need to fill in the gaps with international faces, so we travel quite a lot.
P: Brazil, China, Ukraine, Russia... the biggest problem is getting them work visas.
How many models do you represent?
J: About 100 men and 150 to 200 women.
Huge barriers are being broken down with trans models appearing on magazine covers.
P: There is a Brazilian model who is beautiful but I wouldn’t sell her as a trans model.
J: If we are going to represent someone as a woman, we are going to sell them as a woman.
How do you ensure a model is looking their best before a job if they are not in London?
J: We constantly ask for Instagram updates.
P: There are also downsides to Instagram. We have been catfished, we can’t tell how many filters have been used on an image.
J: That can be disappointing. You are excited to meet someone, then they arrive and are not what you expected.
Do clients care about a model’s social media following?
J: A lot of clients want to see their Instagram. A high following is alluring, but certain brands will also look more at their creativity and diverse style.
John, you were on The Model Agency, the Channel 4 documentary series. Would you ever consider doing something like that for your business?
J: There’s a lot of stuff inside a model agency that should not be shown on TV and I didn’t want to do it, but I was persuaded to appear. I never wanted to do this job to be famous. If we ever were to do a documentary, it couldn’t be a Big Brother- style show. What would be amazing is to have a programme following the search for a model.
What are the best and worst parts of the job?
J: Because we’re dealing with youngsters, having to chase them constantly is tough. A high is obviously finding someone and seeing them go on to do something incredible. We’re giving opportunities over and above what’s being offered at school or what people think they’re able to do. An 18 year old can travel the world with what we’re doing.
And what’s the lifespan of a model’s career?
P: Let’s just mention the top models such as Naomi Campbell and Claudia Schiffer. They have had long careers because they keep their measurements to fit the clothes.
J: It’s no different for plus- size models, they need to maintain their shape too.
Modelling is one of the few industries where women make significantly more than men. Why is that?
J: Men started off as the accessory to the woman. Make- up, beauty, fragrances, they are all female dominated. I think it’s purely sales figures at the end of the day and the biggest money jobs are in fragrance and beauty, which focus mainly on women.
P: A man will have one or two pairs of black shoes, whereas a woman could have four or five pairs. And there is really only one style of man’s shirt, whereas there are so many varieties of tops for women.
Has being gay ever affected you in the workplace?
J: I’ve always been very comfortable being gay in this industry. We are very professional in the office. We don’t hold hands or kiss here.
P: We’ve had people working here who didn’t know we are a couple. They only realise when they see our Instagram, which is only images of us on holiday together.
What advice do you have for anyone who wants to go into the fashion industry?
J:
To be an agent, you need to do two years of solid hard work. People presume you start a job and things will happen overnight. There’s no school in this business, there’s no university and no rulebook. So everything is based purely on experience. I’m happy to train someone up from scratch, but I need to see they have potential and a love of fashion.
prm- agency. com
“There’s no school, no university, no rulebook
in this business”