READ
EXPLORE
BACK
ADD
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. View our Privacy Policy for more information.
Madrid, Spain
To talk about Spain is to talk about fashion. And to talk about Madrid is to talk about family. Madrid is free and wild, friendly and vibrant, cultured and elegant and very trashy, too. Madrid turns you into a Madrileño the moment you walk through its streets, it welcomes everyone. And if there is something that characterizes this city, it is that there are as many versions of it as there are people who inhabit it. Madrid is 'Pain and Glory', as the title of Pedro Almodóvar's film says.
Spanish fashion is simple, not classic. It is discrete, but global. Numerous designers and brands have made their careers outside our borders: Sybilla, Camper, Adolfo Domínguez or Custo Barcelona. Not to mention the giant Inditex, the biggest fashion group in the world, with Zara at its head. Or Loewe, who marked the beginning of 'Made in Spain' in the twentieth century.
We are not Paris, Milano or London in terms of photo studio infrastructure, but we have our own identity. And the fact is that, whether in the cities or in the countryside, we have such interesting and diverse locations, which have put us in the spotlight for fashion and beauty productions of global brands – Christian Dior, Chanel, and Louis Vuitton have all found a place for Spain in their creative visions.
As for the models, the ’90s marked a before and after in our country: Nieves Álvarez, Laura Ponte, Bimba Bosé or Eugenia Silva traveled and worked for international fashion and beauty brands that positioned us as great discoverers of talent – a reputation we maintain today. “Although I founded Uno Models Madrid in 2010, I have been immersed in the fashion industry for more than 35 years and I have seen, discovered and work with numerous international models such as Esther Cañadas, Andrés Velencoso, Inés Sastre, Martina Klein, Verónica Blume or the new generation of models like Alba Galocha, Babac Tine, Elena Li Chen, Rubí Carrillo, Adji Fatou or Rocío Crusset, among others”, says Fernando Merino.
For models, the good thing about a city like Madrid is that it is well-connected (to the world) and very livable. Here, everyone in the industry knows each other and that feeling of closeness and friendship is present not only among models, but also fashion editors or the communication managers of the brands. Madrid is intimate and welcoming. (Another reason why working here is a pleasure.)
But if there is one thing we cannot ignore, as Fernando Merino says, it is that “a modeling agency is a service company like any other”. That's why we must bear in mind that we must give the clients choice. If they want a type of model, we try to have it to offer them.
As Merino says, “If there is something that has evolved our way of working is the advance of technology. It used to be that castings were always in person, with the models traveling from one place to another by client’s requirements. Today the digital realm reigns: almost everything is done remotely, and brands also consider the social media presence of models. Everything is seen. Instagram is a very valuable tool to show yourself to the world, expose your work and, above all, be visible beyond the streets of Madrid”.
Yet Madrid, despite everything, is still a city in which its streets have a lot of prominence. And models were discovered, and continue to be discovered in this way. It makes us continue to believe in the industry in a more personal way. At the end of the day, we work with humans. Do you remember the mythical interviews with supermodels in which they said that they were stopped on the street to offer them the chance to be models? Well, that's still happening in Madrid.
That irreverent vibe of La Movida Madrileña in the ’80s – the countercultural movement during the Spanish transition to democracy after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975 – is still present as is reflected in young people. Madrid is evolution and revolution. Here it doesn't matter where you come from or what you came here for. The young people we see on the streets don't even talk about inclusion; they live it. Being of any race, or of any sexual orientation is something that is already part of Madrid. Nobody questions you. And the fact is that we are that fashionable city that wants to go unnoticed. So, it's a pleasure to have you here, North Six.
