The catwalk car tel: Model agencies in the dock over price-fixing
Firm behind £16,400-a-day Cara ‘colluded with 4 others’
THEY may have launched the careers of some of the world’s most beautiful women.
But Britain’s top modelling agencies have been accused of some distinctly ugly behaviour – pricefixing to rip-off customers.
Watchdogs say Storm, Models 1, Premier, Viva and FM Models – which launched the careers of Kate Moss, Cara Delevingne and Naomi Campbell – were all part of an alleged cartel.
They are accused of exchanging confidential information – including how much they charged for their models – in order to inflate prices.
The Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) said industry trade body the Association of Model Agents (AMA) played a central role in the alleged scam. According to the watchdog, it ‘regularly and systematically’ circulated email ‘alerts’ to its members.
These encouraged agencies to reject the fees being offered by clients – including high street chains, online fashion retailers and consumer goods brands – and to negotiate a higher sum.
The alleged price-fixing is said to have occurred between April 2013 and March last year. During this period, AMA’s business was managed by a council composed of executives from the five modelling agencies.
According to watchdogs, the firms used the AMA and its council as a ‘vehicle for price co-ordination’.
Investigators from the CMA staged morning raids at the agencies last summer after launching a probe and later quizzed bosses.
Models and their agencies can earn extraordinary fees for photographic shoots and campaigns for designers and retailers. Supermodel Linda Evangelista once notoriously claimed she wouldn’t get out of bed for less than $10,000.
Cara Delevingne was named by Forbes Magazine as the second biggest earner in the sector last year, banking an estimated £6million – or roughly £16,400 a day. The bulk of it was earned by modelling for brands such as Burberry, Mulberry and Topshop.
The 23-year-old Londoner cut ties with agency Storm last summer to focus on her acting career. Kate Moss is also no longer with the firm.
British model Jourdan Dunn – who is still with Storm – earned a reported £2.4million last year and has worked for brands including Calvin Klein, Victoria’s Secret and Tommy Hilfiger.
Those signed up to Models 1 include Sophie Dahl and Twiggy, while Premier has nurtured some of the world’s biggest names in modelling including Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer and Cindy Crawford.
The firms under suspicion will now be given a chance to resolve the allegations. If they choose not to they could face fines of up to 10 per cent of turnover – or more than £1million each.
Last night Viva said it was reviewing the issues raised by the CMA. The four other agencies declined to comment. The AMA could not be contacted.