Storm Model Management

>> Two months ago, Simon Fuller, the founder of 19 Entertainment, which owns controlling stakes in Storm Models, Victoria Beckham Collection, and RM by Roland Mouret, announced that he was leaving the company to start a new company pursuing film and other entertainment projects. He is currently retained as a consultant at 19 Entertainment.

For the past year or so, rumors have surrounded Fuller.  Last June, it was announced he was teaming with Topshop's Sir Phillip Green for a global entertainment company; soon after, word came that Kate Moss might somehow be involved. Then, in November, Fuller was rumored to be pairing with Victoria Beckham for a New York-based modeling agency, which Beckham then denied.

But yesterday came news that 19 Entertainment's owner CKX (Fuller sold to CKX in 2005) is discussing the sale of 19 Entertainment to One Equity Partners, the private equity arm of JPMorgan Chase.  Without Fuller and with a potential new owner, there's no confirmation on what the buyout might mean for Storm Models, Victoria Beckham Collection, and RM by Roland Mouret.

>> Beckham Denies Modeling Agency Plans with Fuller, But Some Aren't Convinced —Earlier this week, British tabloid the Daily Mail was convinced that Victoria Beckham might be involved in Simon Fuller's New York modeling agency plans, but today, her spokesperson says otherwise: "There is absolutely no truth in the story regarding Victoria Beckham and Simon Fuller opening a modelling agency in New York. Victoria is concentrating all her efforts on her fashion line and her family." Deny she may, but some from the London side say that ideas are indeed being batted around between Fuller and Beckham, and model television of some kind is involved . . . he is creator of the Idol franchise, after all. [Vogue UK, The Imagist]

>> Any hope that Sir Phillip Green and Simon Cowell may have had for Kate Moss to act as a judge on one of their shows in development may have just gone down the tubes: Simon Fuller, creator of American Idol, which helped Cowell rise to fame, just took a majority stake of 51 percent in Moss's model agency, Storm.

Fuller has been in talks with Storm's founders, Sarah Doukas and her brother Simon Chambers, for the past year and aims to “help create new joint entertainment platforms for its talent, as well as developing the Storm brand in new and exciting directions.”  Doukas hopes the partnership "will provide Storm with the opportunity to work competitively, creatively and on an international level," and Fuller elaborated that the deal will allow them to “push the boundaries, blur the lines and redefine what a model agency should be in this fast moving world, where fashion is playing an increasingly important role in setting and reflecting cultures and tastes.” 

So who will Kate go with? »