With the flurry of international fashion weeks just around the corner, casting directors, brands and designers are preparing to be inundated with an endless stream of girls put up on the board (or chopping block) for consideration. Cutting through the monotonous show packages highlighting the models that will be in town and available, No Agency New York has thrown out the standard practice in favour of something a little more interesting: a zine, shot by Richard Kern and Sandy Kim.
With No Agency founded by model and fashion-industry veteran Ashley Smith and Alexander Tsebelis, the duo saw this an opportunity to “make something that we want to make.” Featuring names such as Alexandra Marzella, Daniela Lalita, Eloisa Santos and newcomers Gabriette, Seashell Coker, Yulu Serao, and Elita Harkov, No Agency New York’s roster answers a handwritten yes/no questionnaire, providing some intimate insight into their preferences (and penmanship).
“When I first met with Alex and Ashley I said, ‘I get that you’re starting an agency but I’m not really sure why you want to talk to me.’ But then they showed me some of the girls and I got it” – Richard Kern
In an exclusive collaboration with Kern and Kim, the agency utilised their network and artistic community of friends to create a different approach to an otherwise basic formula of sending out vital statistics, such as name, contact info and measurements. “When I first met with Alex and Ashley I said, ‘I get that you’re starting an agency but I’m not really sure why you want to talk to me,’” Kern says. “But then they showed me some of the girls and I got it.” While both artists work within the blurred lines of the art-fashion landscape, questioning the confines of the two and typically erring on the side of anti-establishment, Kern has previously told Dazed that he’s “looking for somebody who is not trying too hard to be hot.” It seems fitting then, that No Agency New York has mastered the underrated-yet-hot girl-next-door-on-Instagram look.
Like Issey Miyake and Irving Penn’s longstanding collaboration that was conducted primarily through snail-mail, the comparisons and contrasts between Kern and Kim’s work on opposite coasts equate to a portfolio piece that plays off one another. With Kern shooting digitally in a New York studio and Kim shooting on film in her sunny Los Angeles backyard, the results make for a more intimate look at the people and personalities behind the typically-silent profession of modelling. Both artists eschew their sometimes gritty, DIY-style – resulting in a more polished portrait series. Get ahold of No Agency New York’s pinup-worthy exclusive in the flesh before it’s too late.
A limited run of 50 copies of the show pack will be printed.
