LIVING in Paris with her dream job, Jeni Rose is a Senior Vice President at IMG Models, international modelling agency operating in New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Milan and Sydney. Representing big modelling names such as the Hadids, IMG is the agency to sign with. Now Jeni Rose is championing the beginning of a new era in scouting – opportunities for all on Instagram using #WLYG. Jeni co-founded the We Love Your Genes initiative alongside David Cunningham of IMG Models. It means anyone on Instagram who uses the hashtag is in with the chance of getting discovered by talent scouts from IMG.
Jeni Rose, Senior Vice President of IMG Models and creator of We Love Your Genes
So far the @WeLoveYourGenes page has over 266,000 Instagram followers – and counting. One success is Diana Silvers, discovered in 2015 by using #WLYG, who recently starred in the hit coming-of-age comedy Booksmart which has a 97 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. This is just one success of many, and WLYG looks set to revolutionise the modelling and entertainment industry.
Senior Vice President of one of the biggest modelling agencies and founder of ground-breaking WLYG, Rose is a woman at the top of her game – here I find out how she got there, how she created WLYG, and where she wants to go next (picking up a few tips for prospective models along the way).
Diana Silvers, of new films Booksmart and Ma, found fame through #WLYG. Instagram @dianasilverss
How did you first start out in the industry?
I guess it all began when I was 13 and I was shopping in NY. I saw a shoot going on and I’d never seen anything like it before. All the excitement! I just thought, I want to be part of that. I mean, you don’t realise all the different aspects of a shoot until you see one – the makeup artist, the stylist, casting crew, the photographer. Later, when I was at school at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York I worked at Macy’s photo studio for free. People always asked, “Why are you doing that?” – but everyone worked there. Models, photographers … they all worked there so it was a great place to meet people in the industry.
You’ve been in the industry for a number of years now, and clearly know what to look for, what advice would you give for people wanting to pursue a modelling career?
There’s a perception of what we want and it’s wrong. Girls in Paris come with no makeup, and they’re gorgeous – they don’t need any. But then in other places, like at a casting in Beijing recently, you go there and all the girls wear makeup. They are beautiful but we’re always like, “Can you remove the makeup please?” – they just don’t need it. We want to see you. We want to see the true self. It’s about authenticity. It’s like for WLYG we have 1.6million posts with the hashtag. There are beautiful photos of girls but we would much rather see them having a bonfire on a beach with friends, having fun. Not posed, no glam makeup, not face tuned – just their authentic self.
I think personality is a big thing too, it’s not just about looks is it?
No, it’s not and I think there’s this preconception of models being stupid and it’s just not true. I mean I’ve been to what, three interviews for jobs, whereas they go to five a day. There are something like 200 beautiful girls at casting and these girls, they get picked out of them all. There’s got to be a reason why.
Alyssa Traoré has walked for the likes of Dior, Valentino and Elie Saab. Instagram @alyssatraore
Could you tell me about some of the biggest challenges you have faced in your career?
I don’t know. I enjoy it so much. I really love my job. I wish I could say there have been loads of challenges that I have had to overcome so I can sound tough …I guess getting WLYG out there. Competitors have tried similar things before, using hashtags on Instagram, but it’s never really taken off. When we were first working on setting it up, we were told we couldn’t link it to IMG, because what if we want to do something separate? What if we want to do a TV show? First we had to come up with good name. We had to have a good acronym that wasn’t the same as anything else and a pure hashtag which hadn’t been used before. We had a team which took 8 months trying to figure something out. Then one night me and David (Cunningham) thought we’d have a go ourselves and it just came together.
Obviously WLYG is a high point, anything else?
It’s hard to say, I mean I do really love my job. I guess the part I really like, and something that people don’t really think about, is getting to know the girls. We go to their hometowns, we meet their parents – we see them as they really are. And I think that’s really great, getting to know them. We had a girl from Cambridge who wanted to intern with us. She worked with us for six months and she was great. At the end I asked what did she take away? And she had a think and said she didn’t realise how people orientated it was. She could see we really developed a connection with the girls.
Gizele Oliveira has walked in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in 2017 and 2018 and been on the cover of Vogue India. Instagram @giizeleoliveira
What is #WLYG?
#WLYG stands for We Love Your Genes. Launched in December 2014, #WLYG is a dedicated Instagram account and hashtag that lets IMG see potential models’ natural beauty in their everyday lives. Potential models no longer have to spend money on portfolios or photo shoots, or travel to attend faraway casting calls. Instead, they simply hashtag their photos and engage with IMG scouts directly. The development team at IMG Models monitors submissions and uses proprietary tools to connect with potential models effectively, broadening our talent pool and democratising access to the fashion modelling industry.
Alannah Walton walked in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in 2018. Instagram @alannahwalton
So wanting to democratise access to the fashion modelling industry was a big push to start WLYG, what else inspired you to start WLYG?
I guess it is mostly about getting out to a wider range of people. If your 14 or 15 you’re not going to have connections or know how to get into the industry, especially if you’re in somewhere like Bosnia. And kids are clever, they do find you and send you messages, so the hashtag just allows easy access. They use the hashtag and we can see them. We have a whole team working on it. Sometimes they get contacted by another agency through our hashtag, but then we contact them and they’re so glad, because they used our hashtag, so obviously they want to work with IMG. That’s their goal. So I was worried that we had kind of created a honey pot for our competitors but they use our hashtag because they want to work with us.
It’s interesting because now there’s a big focus on diversity in the industry, do you think WLYG is helping bring diversity to the modelling scene?
Yes – the reason why there are these pockets where girls come from is not because there are only beautiful girls in these parts, but because there is no one to discover them. There are gorgeous girls everywhere but not the right people to see them. In South America these girls come from Brazil and Argentina, but are you telling me there aren’t gorgeous girls in Uruguay? In Chile? There is just no one to spot them. We have girls in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia, and I’d love to have a top model in Albania. It’s about finding these girls, and the hashtag helps us to do that.
How many models have been discovered by #WLYG?
We don’t disclose numbers. However, I can say that #WLYG has sparked several key signings, ranging from models booked for the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show to some of the most high-profile runways, including Calvin Klein, Prada, Saint Laurent, to the pages of Vogue, Numéro, ELLE and all major fashion magazines.
Lameka Fox walked for Yeezy and Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2018. Instagram @lamekafox
I think it’s fair to say WLYG takes an alternative approach to model scouting – how have people in the fashion industry responded to the scheme?
People have been enthusiastic about it. The issue is other agencies. Using the WLYG initiative we scout globally, so agencies can get annoyed when you scout in their country because you’re scouting from their doorstep. But they might not come across these girls, and once we find them we do place girls locally.
Do you still scout in person? If so, where?
IMG still invests in sending scouting teams to visit countries around the globe to find potential models. The locations change and span six of the seven continents. These locations are dictated by effective infrastructure to scout and major events that might draw potential talent. Our development team invests significant time and energy in building in-roads around the globe to facilitate effective scouting that will continuously diversify IMG’s roster.
Finally, what do you have planned for WLYG over the next five years?
I think at the moment there are curvy girls and then traditional sized models – there is no one in between. Where are the size 8, 10 and 12 girls? You know, most people on the street, that’s what most of us are. You get gorgeous older models who are brilliant, but they’re not the same size as they were when they were 16. I think this is the next step for the industry.
Tom Hughes, Instagram @tom.hughes
With a new men’s version of WLYG launched just this month, called The Lookout (15.6k followers on Instagram already) and success stories such as Tom Hughes, who just last week walked for Dolce & Gabbana in Milan Fashion Week Men’s, it’s clear to see that Jeni and IMG are paving the way in the fashion industry. Accessible and always on the lookout for new talent, all that remains to say is; watch this space. Big things (and superstar models) are coming.
by Alicia Pountney
Find We Love Your Genes and The Lookout on Instagram.