Casablancas lobby

Over 30 years ago, I met John Casablancas for the first time!       

Who is John?

John Casablancas was the founder of Elite Model Management and one of the most influential men in the modeling business. He discovered such supermodels as Cindy Crawford, Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum, and Gisele Bundchen to name a few. He invented the "SUPERMODEL". 

In 1969, John Casablancas opened his first Modeling Agency in Paris. By 1975, he moved Elite's headquarters to New York City. With Elite's great success also came a need for fresh new faces, so in 1980 he and his brother Fernando, established the John Casablancas Modeling & Career Centers.  Today, their Career Centers are located in most major cities across the United States.

These Centers were established to accomplish three major goals. First, to scout on a local level and discover fresh new faces for the major modeling markets in New York, Chicago and Europe.  Secondly, to offer a training facility to prepare models for their future careers.  Thirdly, to make the expertise of this training available to local models and to be able to help young people choose careers in Modeling and related fields, such as Make-Up Artistry, Fashion Design and Professional Acting.

During our many business conventions over the years in places like New Orleans, Puerto Rico, South Beach, San Francisco and Las Vegas, we spent many hours discussing the business of modeling.

Years ago, I started helping discover fresh new faces to enter the modeling world and today I'm still searching for that next Supermodel from Michigan!

Sincerely,

Bernadette Strickland