This article is both in French and English.

MODELS.com caught up with Veronique Gobin and Herve Bougon, the two dynamic owners of Paris' Vision agency for the inaugural session of our new Agency Spotlight feature.
Flagshipped by the latest Prada girl - Hannelore, Vision explores a powerful new ideal of what models should look like. With one of the most efficient management systems to emerge in recent years, Vision is poised to be a major power player in the Zero's. These are the details:

En guise de session inaugurale pour notre nouvelle rubrique Agency Spotlight (Clin d'oeil sur une Agence) MODELS.com a rencontre Veronique Gobin et Herve Bougon, les deux entrepreneurs derriere l'agence parisienne Vision.
Avec pour fer de lance Hannelore, le visage de la derniere campagne Prada, Vision explore l'ideal du mannequin nouvelle generation. Grace a une gestion strategique des plus innovantes, Vision se positionne comme une des agences star de la nouvelle decennie. En voici les details:

M: How long has Vision been operating?

V: Vision has been operating for a year now.

M: Quand Vision a-t-elle ete cree?

V: Nous avons cree Vision il y a un an.

M: How would you say the modeling market has changed in that time?

V: At that time, we opened Vision with a model style most people in the fashion industry thought to be the trend. Just before opening our agency, the rumor in all the international modeling agencies was that the "edgy" girls were on their way out and the plastic beauty of the 80's was making a comeback.

M: Comment le marche du modeling a-t-il evolue durant cette annee?

V: Au moment ou nous avons cree l'agence, le milieu de la mode nous percevait comme representant d'une tendance ephemere. La rumeur etait que les beautes insolantes etaient depassees, et que les canons plastiques des annees 80 faisaient un comeback.

M: What were you attempting to bring to the table in terms of a new “aesthetic” in the modeling market?

V: We opened our agency with 50 new faces who have never been represented on major markets before. The style of the girl is a more natural woman, in the sense that there is now a very strong identification on the part of the masses with the models of the new millennium. The beauty of our models reflect much more closely to current reality as opposed the divas of the 80's. For one thing we are against encouraging girls to do plastic surgery. Of course there still exists a criteria for becoming a model (height, good skin etc). And the more personality the model has, the more chance she has in becoming successful in this industry.

M: Que vouliez vous apporter comme nouvelle esthetique au marche du modeling?

V: Nous avons ouvert notre agence avec 50 nouveaux visages qui n'avaient jamais ete representes sur aucun marche majeur. Le style de nos filles est celui d'une femme naturelle, reflet de cette identification marquee du grand publique aux mannequins du nouveau millenium. Par rapport aux divas des annees 80, nos mannequins reflechissent la realite feminine. Pour sur, nous n'encourageons pas la chirurgie plastique. Bien evidement il existe des criteres pour devenir mannequin (taille, texture de peau, ect.). Plus une fille a une personalite affirmee, plus ses chances de succes sont elevees.

M: Is there an ideal type of “Vision Girl”?

V: There is not an ideal type of Vision girl. We are looking for different types of girls with a certain modernity and lots of personality.

M: Existe-t-il un type de fille ideal chez Vision ?

V: Non, nous cherchons des filles avec une certaine modernite et beaucoup de personnalite.

M: Do you find that the modeling market has indeed gone global or do agencies still have to focus on managing a girls' career in a more regional sense?

V: We believe that with the new technology, the modeling industry is on the way to globalization. A perfect example is our handling of the career of Hannelore Knuts. At the moment you can only represent globally very few models with extremely strong potential. Regarding the development of the majority of models, it still stays quite regional at the moment.

M: Pensez vous que le marche du modeling est devenu mondial ou les agences doivent-elles continuer a gerer la carriere de leurs filles au niveau local?

V: Grace aux nouvelles technologies, l'industrie est sur la route de la mondialisation. Le parfait exemple est notre gestion de la carriere d'Hannelore Knuts. Pour l'instant, vous ne pouvez exposer sur les marches internationaux qu'une poignee de filles qui ont de forts potentiels. Nous continuons a gerer la carriere de la plus part de nos mannequins sur le marche local.