ABOUT MH MODEL
Elite New York was founded in 1977 by John Casablancas. At its inception, Elite revolutionized the modeling industry by giving birth to The Supermodel. Forty-five years later, Elite continues to be revered as one of the most powerful agencies not only in New York, but also all over the world. Elite is committed to celebrating the individuality and humanity of the talent it represents. With a collaborative approach to talent management, Elite remains at the forefront of fashion by establishing long term careers.
Elite New York represents several powerhouse talents such as Natasha Poly, Behati Prinsloo, Fei Fei Sun, Iselin Steiro, Anna Ewers, Rebecca Longendyke, Bianca Balti, Gottmik, Soo Joo Park, Violet Chachki and Matthew Noszka among others.
In 2023, Elite New York remains the flagship of the Elite North America network with satellite offices in Los Angeles, Miami and Toronto.
FOUNDER
John Casablancas was the Founder of Elite, the world’s best-known modeling agency group. Mr. Casablancas’ innovative business approach, as well as his knack for discovering and launching the Supermodels and the strength of his scouting and model contests, catapulted Elite to the top-ranking agency in model management history.
For twenty-five years as Elite’s chairman, Mr. Casablancas discovered and/or represented many of the most glamorous and stunning women working in the modeling industry (Gisele Bundchen, Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford, Gisele Bundchen, Tyra Banks, Elsa Benitez, Heidi Klum, Stephanie Seymour, Paulina Porizkova, Iman, Linda Evangelista, Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Daniela Pestova, Karen Mulder, Estelle Halliday, and Nadja Auermann among others).
Many of Elite’s models who started with Casablancas became Hollywood movie stars: Demi Moore, Cameron Diaz, Uma Thurman, Catriona Balfe, Ines Sastre, Amber Valetta, Famke Jenssen, Natasha Henstridge, Jessica Lange, Rachel Ward, Monica Bellucci and Diane Kruger.
In 1972, he founded Elite in Paris. After having positioned Elite as a leader in Europe, he took on the New York establishment in 1977 and revolutionized the industry by glamorizing the models’ image and turning them into businesswomen. His entry into the market precipitated what was described by the press as the “great model wars” amongst the “Big 3” agencies (Ford, Wilhelmina and Elite). Elite prevailed.
In 1983, Casablancas created the Elite Model Look contest, (originally known as The Look Of the Year), a unique and powerful scouting vehicle where thousands of contestants from sixty countries worldwide participated each year.
In April 2000, after twenty-five years leading the agency that dominated the modeling industry worldwide, Casablancas sold his equity in Elite, leaving an international agency network comprised of over 26 agencies. He retired in Key Biscayne, Florida, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with his wife Aline and their five children. Surrounded by his loving family, he passed away in Rio de Janeiro on July 20, 2013.
His legacy, beyond all the top models, glamour and success of Elite, resides in all the people he inspired.