In three decades, Sarah Doukas and her team have made supermodels out of schoolgirls and continue to make household names out of rising stars. Anna Ewers, Duckie, Vanessa Moody, and Jasmine Sanders are just some of the girls on the Storm books making waves across the fashion industry right now. In the midst of a busy fashion month, we caught up with Sarah to get her essential career tips for becoming a scout and the story of how Kate Moss become Kate Moss.
What was your big break?
I had just moved back to the UK from California with very little money and my two-year-old daughter to feed. A friend of mine who was a photographer had heard about an opening at a model agency. I went along for a meeting and had a chat, and surprisingly I got the job… and that agency was Laraine Ashton at IMG. The job was my first professional break, and I've been lucky over the years that I've been blessed with a few. I thought I was just going to stay for a few months because I had never worked full-time for someone else. The job really suited me and I stayed for four and a half years. Everything I had done professionally in the past proved to be incredibly useful and I brought all my experience to the role. I thrive on dealing with difficult scenarios and am incredibly tenacious and resourceful. Working as an agent was a perfect fit for me. I loved it and I had no idea that I would. I had always known I would run my own business and this led me to decide to open my own agency - and my second lucky break, which resulted in Richard Branson being my first business partner and investor in Storm.
Be prepared to do lots of work experience to determine which area of the fashion industry you want to work in - learning the ropes is really valuable. Be prepared to start at the very bottom rung of the ladder. People have major preconceptions about our industry and it’s integral that you understand the business – from a human, creative and commercial perspective.Be nice to everyone from the bottom up. I always try to treat everyone equally. I try to never let success go to my head. When I am in the office I will load the dishwasher – I don’t just make business deals with CEOs and have lunch with supermodels. I believe we are all the same and treating people equally keeps you grounded. I also believe you have to lead by example.
Tomorrow is always another day and anything can happen. Keep a strong perspective on the bigger picture when things go wrong - because 99 per cent of the time there is always a solution to be found.
Employ good people - I’m very particular. I like family-minded people and team players. I don’t like moodiness; problems are fine but I like straightforwardness. They must be open and straightforward with common sense, a quick mind and a great sense of humour. In Storm, this is essential because we work together as a team. I like “we" people not "I" people.What do you think is a key skill to working in the fashion industry?
From my own experience working in fashion is not for the faint-hearted. It’s a challenging industry which contributes billions of pounds to the UK economy. Being the conduit between your talent and the retail industry is difficult. You need to love people as well as dealing with the very particular demands of the fashion industry. Sometimes it can be like working as a trader in the City. However we are a people business first and foremost, and we put the well-being of our talent as our top priority. Fundamentally, you need to have compassion and intuition, as well as being tough, resourceful and creative.
Fashion is about having vision. It’s about having a strong working knowledge and appreciation of creativity within the industry, representing your artists, but also supporting the stylists, photographers and other emerging talent - we want them to flourish.
Our business is very complex. We operate in a highly competitive global market which is worth billions and yet run by relatively small numbers of people. It’s tough - and frankly - it’s only for people who like dealing with extreme stress. You need to cultivate relationships and understand the unique politics which exist.
For me the thrill of this job is still the scouting of new talent - it’s the most exciting thing to discover a new face and to help them on their journey. Seeing a young wannabe smile when they realise they can achieve their potential is the best feeling. Watching someone’s confidence emerge is wonderful and makes me truly happy.Becoming a designer or editor has quite a clear path, yours was not quite the same,
how do you think your journey helped you to reach where you’re at today?
What’s the most surprising thing about the industry you discovered once you started working in it?
There is a level of sexism that exists even in fashion towards women in business. I started my business with an interest-free loan from Richard Branson. I was extraordinarily lucky with this and he gave me some invaluable advice. But lots of the powers that be around him were difficult and very demanding in terms of the way we ran the business. I know they had to be but I was always very conscious of how much I had to make Storm a massive success, and I sometimes felt intimidated. Being a woman in business makes you very tough and you really have to fight your corner. Generally, nothing surprises me about the fashion industry anymore, it has changed enormously and is in the middle of a huge transition.
Owning your own business calls for both creative and business acumen, which one do you use the most?
I suppose I have more creative acumen and emotional intelligence than business acumen. I have been lucky and have always had great support running Storm since the early days with my brother Simon Chambers. My PR always jokes that I shoot from the hip like Dirty Harry whilst Simon is more measured like M from James Bond. We do have very complementary skills.
What’s the best advice you have ever been given?
I learnt a lot watching Richard grow his business from way back when I was at school with his sister. He is such a maverick and he really inspired me. I always remember him telling me to never be afraid of the press – this advice was classic Richard. He always went against conventional business traditions and I learned so much from him about trusting my instincts, and I like being a little disruptive and unpredictable. I wanted Storm to be a respected and well-known model agency that people everywhere have heard of and want to join. Richard always said be nice to everyone and work with the media, and that’s why we have had some public recognition.Do you think that people are born with a natural talent for scouting or can it be nurtured?
Being able to scout is a rare skill and I do have to train my staff well. I have to explain how they should approach people professionally and then also teach them how to appreciate good bone structure and profile. It’s definitely not easy and some agents are reticent to approach people in person. My eye is like a camera and I can see if someone is photogenic. I'm keen on training all my agents and they really have to be passionate at looking at fashion editorial and building up their knowledge of who is shooting what. We’re all avid readers of all the magazines and do a lot of groundwork. This also helps with scouting and having a discerning eye when you looking at potential models.
The amount of counselling and nurturing we need to give young people. There are always a myriad of problems, some very complicated, and occasionally very sad. We face several issues that are a consequence of representing so many young people that can face overwhelming challenges today which are exacerbated by the pressure from living in this mad social-media bubble we exist in. You need so much life experience to be able to lend a compassionate ear and to offer solutions and guidance. My teams and I get very involved and really enjoy helping; you have to be a strong and inspiring influence as well as a brilliant business agent. I try to employ really caring people and not just people who are good at being agents.In 30 years, could you possible pick a career highlight?
There have been many – we’ve broken quite a few stereotypes over the years and this will always remain a highlight for me. One of the best highlights happened in 1993 when Storm was four years old. I had discovered Kate Moss a few years previously but in 1993 I remember taking her to New York, where we would meet with Calvin Klein to negotiate the terms of her contract. It was an extraordinary trip for Kate, but also for me and my brother Simon who was with us and part of the negotiating team.
The prelude to Kate’s Calvin contract was the fact that she had already shot Italian Glamour with Fabien Baron directing. Liz Tilberis had seen this and had then booked her for a wonderful shoot with Patrick Demarchelier, and then Fabien had introduced her to Calvin. The interest in her was building and I had a sense then that things were going to get very exciting. You have to remember how the modelling industry was way back in the 90’s. The era of the supermodel had been launched and it was an incredibly glamorous time to be a model agent. Kate bucked every trend and the contract was a very important milestone for her - and also for the modelling industry.When I reflect on our 30 years, I feel like we have consistently broken stereotypes with the people we have discovered and chosen to represent. For me personally, signing a young Jane March at the age of 14 and when she was just five foot two was a great moment. She had the most exquisite face and was soon spotted by Jean Jacques Annaud on the cover of a magazine. He then cast her as the female lead in his 1992 film The Lover.
Cara Delevingne was another trailblazer whom we launched. She was not so tall and she changed everything. Fearlessly championing diversity, she completely turned the industry on its head. The divine Sophie Dahl who kicked all industry norms with her vivacious personality, curves and abundant talent. And then of course representing Kate Moss for 28 years was an extraordinary privilege and a major highlight.What are your top five career tips?
Whenever I told someone that I was setting up my own business they were dismissive and told me I was mad, and they asked if had I really thought this through. So my number one tip is to always think through your business plan thoroughly and then and go for it. You only get one life.
I’m one of those crazy people who has always known I would work for myself and run my own business, and you do have to have a particular type of personality.
Don’t be scared of failure, this is very important. Do your homework thoroughly and draft a water tight business plan that accounts for events which may go wrong. Keep your Plan B in mind. Do not give up at the first hurdle – this is what distinguishes a lot of successful business people in my opinion.
Don’t progress too quickly when you achieve some success. Exercise caution and keep going. Pace yourself and always maintain your enthusiasm.
Make sure you get solid financial backing. I went looking for money and I was very sure of what per cent I was willing to give away in lieu of advantages - and I was not prepared to do it for less. I was lucky because I had known Richard Branson for a long time as I was at school with his sister Lindy and I was not willing to give more than 50 per cent away to an investor. When I look back I am amazed at how confident and fearless I was and I think this helped. I didn’t entertain failure, I had to succeed.
And stay inspired by what you do - I’m still inspired by my team and I hope I still inspire them (all 40 of them).
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