The FINANCIAL — Bruno Pauletta, founder of Brave Model Management in Milan, known for being an agent of supermodel Bianca Balti has started searching for promising talents in Georgia. Mr. Pauletta, made his first ever casting in Tbilisi, the capital last week, where more than 300 girls tried their luck. Out of them 15 favourites were picked and are now preparing to join the huge fashion business in Milan.
Carmen Kass, Kate King, and Bianca Balti – these are just some of the icons discovered by Bruno Pauletta, they are fashion stars who are shining under the name Brave Models Management. Through the help of George Papidze, Brave’s official representative and agent in Georgia, Bruno Pauletta believes he will find new icons in Georgia as well.
Bruno Pauletta has 27 years of experience in the modelling business. Before he established his own agency, he was working for Riccardo Gay Model Management. “In the ‘80s and ‘90s it was the strongest model agency in Italy and one of the biggest in the world. I did not know what a model agency was before and I started from zero. I was picking up the models from airports, taking them to the studio, I was a driver, I was cutting out pictures from the magazines. It really was stage zero and I liked it. In one year I became a booker. I worked for 15 years in that agency. At that time we used to represent all the top models, like Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Tatjana Patitz, Carol Alt, Stephanie Seymour. After 15 years of working as director of Riccardo Gay models agency I felt it was the right time to open my own one – Brave,” Pauletta said.
“I designed a strategy – first I spent a lot of my own money, then I cut costs. After a few years my business started to work. The secret of my success is that I have kept my company small, as a boutique. A small company, small costs, few models but of a good level – this was the secret. For example, there are Ferrari and BMW car manufacturers. The quality is the same for both, but Ferrari issues less numbers of cars than BMW. The same happens in terms of Brave Models Management. It is a small company with a few models but its quality and position on the market is very high. I kept the company small because, when I opened up my agency, I had limited money to invest. Number 2 – because the economy was very bad. Number 3 – because the market was already full with the agencies with a lot of models, and number 4 – because I have never been mass controlling or mass producing. I have always kept only the models I liked and those ones in which I believe. I am completely concentrated on all the models which work for my model agency. So far it is the best strategy for my company,” he added.
As a result, Brave has grown an enviable reputation with models, clients, photographers and directors for its individual yet highly professional and expert approach. Today, Brave is recognized as a formidable national and international competitor to larger agencies with a comprehensive network of like-minded and successful associates enabling it to offer a seamless global service.
“I thought I had to be very brave to dare to open a new agency in such a difficult period. And I thought “Brave” was a very suitable name for my agency. Not only me, but in general, a girl must be very brave to become a model, because it is a very difficult profession. You must be strong and brave to become a model,” he added.
When Bruno Pauletta was working for Riccardo Gay he came up with an idea to open a scouting office in different countries. “We opened several branches under the name “Models Network by Riccardo Gay”. We opened eight different offices. The people who managed these offices had a great name, financial support and they felt that life was easier and instead of giving results and finding new models, they just did nothing but thinking about how to promote themselves. So we closed all the offices in 2000,” he said.
Time has passed and Pauletta is still thinking about opening a branch in Tbilisi, Georgia. “I have had great cooperation with George Papidze, who is the representative of Brave Models Management in Georgia. I do not have any other agents elsewhere except for him. Our passion is the common thing which is what George and I share. He knows who is who, who is doing what, which I do not know anymore. When I was his age, I was like George, knew every model and had the same passion as he has today,” Pauletta said.
In a few weeks the first flow of Georgian girls will travel to Milan. “Usually when a girl arrives in Milan we valuate her status as a model, we verify if she knows how to dress, how to walk, we verify her book, if she needs photos and so on. We basically make her ready to be introduced to magazines, photographers, designers. Her duty will be to get ready every morning early to go to casting or photoshoots and shows. She needs to be a professional and serious. No party, no irresponsibility, no laziness – just work, work and more work! We will teach them everything they need to know about this business and Milan,” said Pauletta.
“A typical Georgian girl is brunette with long and thick hair and light eyes – looking a little bit Italian, just slightly. This is a look that I like. Georgian girls need to learn English and some of them need to improve their body, the measurements. We will make them ready for big business. Models are like diamonds. When you find them they are stones. You need to clean them up little by little and then the brilliance of the diamond is revealed. It is difficult to find a model already shining. You should teach them how to walk, how to dress, how to do their hair, not to pluck their eyebrows, not to put on too much make up, not to colour the hair, teach them how to move in front of the camera. There is a lot of things to do. Find the stone – clean it, cut it, make it shine and it is done!” he said.
“I found Carmen Kass in Estonia, when she was 16. When I brought her to Milan, there were not many people who could understand her look at that time. But I believed in her very much, promoted her in the Milan, New York, London, Paris markets and all together we did a great job, we created a star. She is still working very well and she is still a star!”
“Mariacarla Boscono is an Italian top model who is very famous in the modelling business. I found her in Rome. She was doing a contest. I told her to stop doing contests and become a model instead of that. So I brought her to Milan and she became a top model.”
“I found Carla Bruni in another agency in Milan, just doing nothing there. I managed to get her into my agency at the time which was Riccardo Gay. I did an amazing booking for her and changed her career from that of commercial to top level.”
“Eva Herzigová – this is another star that originally started with me in Milan. I was doing scouting with Dominique Caffin, a dear friend of mine, a scout from Paris in the Czech Republic. There was casting and Eva just followed her friend who was participating in the casting. When we saw her I immediately suggested she come to Milan and do modelling there. Now we see her as a top model.”
“And Bianca Balti, of course, who is nowadays the most demanded model in my agency and in general. At the beginning of her career, she was rejected by a couple of agencies, such as Elite Model Management, for being “too average and common” looking. Despite this, Bianca was sent to my office by a common friend that suggested her to try start working with me. After our first meeting and after working on her look and after only a few weeks I managed to book her for the cover of L’Officiel. Her first notable advertisement campaign came for Dolce & Gabbana a few months after she started. Moreover, she appears on the covers of many fashion magazines like Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, W, Jalouse, Cosmopolitan, Velvet, and Marie Claire. Campaigns for Roberto Cavalli, Donna Karan, Christian Dior, D&G, Valentino, Armani Jeans, Missoni, Rolex, Guess?, Paco Rabanne, Anna Molinari, Guerlain, Revlon, La Perla, Mango and many others. She also appeared in the 2005 Victoria’s Secret fashion show and in their catalogues,” he said.
“Now I am talking about the icons, but there are many girls in my agency who are not so famous but still doing their job perfectly and earning a lot of money. It is easy to find somebody which is obviously beautiful, but sometimes it is boring as she will not go far. But if you find somebody that is unique, because of her look and character, because of her brain – then you know that she will do something spectacular. But it is more difficult to find someone like this,” he added.
“I will stay in this business for as long as it gives me satisfaction. It is not a question of money, but satisfaction. When you see a stone and you start to clean it and the diamond is revealed – this is the satisfaction,” said Pauletta.
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