Answering a Reader Question #206

Jessika Wrote:

Dania,
Hello.. My name is Jessika, I'm from Florida and I have always dreamed of being a Victoria Secret Model. I'm going to be 21 in four months and I'm like inbetween 5'8 and 5'9. I have been in a size 00, 0, & 1 since like 9th grade. Lol. To my understanding, I have to try to get signed with Elite or Ford modeling company? I tried John Robert Powers or Robert John Powers a few years ago and they wanted me. They were going to pay for me. That's what is supposed to happen, correct? I didn't do it because they wouldn't pay for my cousin, but now I know that that was a huge mistake. Or is JRP not a well enough known agency? Everyone that I work with keeps telling me that I need to be a VS Model. What else could I do to possibly even get considered for a casting?

Hi, Jessika! Thank you for asking a question that isn't already answered in the Victoria's Secret post itself! LOL. You are correct, to have the best shot at being a VS model, you'd have to be signed to either Ford or Elite in New York OR another top fashion agency in the NYC area. It is important that you understand that New York is where VS does its business with recruiting models--not just any Ford or Elite location qualifies.

The first thing to know is that JRP is NOT a modeling agency--they are a modeling school. Whether they want to cover your training fees or charge you, they are not an agency and cannot guarantee that you will get signed to an actual one or be successful. Period. Their success stories are strictly on a case-by-case basis and are not the typical results a person who attends their school experiences. So you did not make a mistake in that respect. Companies like Victoria's Secret do NOT deal with companies like JRP.

The process for being considered as a VS model is pretty much set in stone for those that are not already known models in the industry. You'll have to visit the Elite and Ford agency websites and follow their instructions for submitting your photos and info or travel there to attend an open casting call in the hopes of getting signed to either one. As far as my research shows, only by doing that and successfully getting agency representation in the NYC market, can you have a shot at being submitted by your agency for any VS castings.

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