(Lorenzo Martone, Alessandra Ambrosio, Ryan Brown)

Lorenzo Martone and Ryan Brown met 3 years ago - and instantly knew one day they would launch a project that would unite their extensive knowledge and create something groundbreaking. With Martone’s advertising agency background and Brown heading up the marketing division at Elite - the two recently joined forces and launched ARC NY - which some have dubbed the future of the modeling industry…and I couldn’t agree more.

I’ll let them tell you why…

It is my pleasure to introduce you to Mr. Lorenzo Martone and Mr. Ryan Brown - two individuals who are both passionate and smart, and who are doing something entrepreneurial and incredibly clever. Their company ARC NY is well thought out, well planned, and most importantly, exceptionally strategically executed.

These guys are changing things up…and you will see why.

Read below for what these two have on their minds…

You recently launched “ARC NY” - offering a unique “insiders” knowledge and insight into the fashion and entertainment industries. Why did you decide to launch this new vision?

We conceptualized this idea a long time ago. Following   the press, we realized that there was a niche there for models and celebrities that need what we call “strategic visibility”. We believe between the two of us we can be part of the puzzle in a models life, creating compelling publicity campaigns for their careers and other initiatives they decide to pursue in their lives.

(ARC NY’s Soho Office)

What do both of you bring to the table? How has your previous work experience helped to formulate and execute the ARC NY mission?

I (Lorenzo Martone) come from an advertising background - from Chandelier Creative - a boutique agency specialized in luxury brands, fashion, retailers, beauty and some hotel work. My daily life within Chandelier is to create strategic planning for our clients (Givenchy, Barbie, Peter Som, Nars, just to name a few) - The Malcolm just featured some work with developed for Shanghai Tang!

My partner Ryan Brown, was the marketing director at Elite models for over 6 years and has experience with the daily life of models and what it takes to become a brand - he understands their needs and ambitions. Together, I believe we cover a lot of ground with our clients.

Firstly - we understand their goals, we meet with their modeling agents and create a strategic plan on ” how to get there” .It takes hard work, commitment and talent, from all sides, from ours, but especially from the girls, to achieve credible and respectable results.

(Lorenzo Martone, Jessica White, Ryan Brown and Julie Henderson)

A first of it’s kind; you go beyond the confines of an agency and really create individualistic platforms for unique talent. Does strategy and longevity planning play a key role in your business plan?

Yes - as I said before, we believe a lot of projects related to the modeling industry sometimes fail, not because of the talent herself, but because of the lack of strategy or time that people put into it. We don’t believe in easy cash, our verbal agreement with the girls is usually 3 to 5 years - that’s the minimum time we judge necessary to make things happen with solid roots.

Who are some of the girls you represent?

We currently represent 6 girls: Alessandra Ambrosio, Fernanda Motta, Jessica White, Julie Henderson, Lydia Hearst and Valeria Mazza. They all kept their modeling careers being managed by Elite, New York Models and Woman - the only client we manage fully from ARC is Lydia Hearst. So you can see we work closely with their agents.

(Lorenzo Martone, Lydia Hearst and Ryan Brown)

How did the two of you meet? And when did you decide to launch ARC? Was there a certain moment that triggered this? Or was it a gradual process?

We met almost 3 years ago when I moved to New York. Ryan was working at Elite and we met because in the advertising agency I was in, we would call some of his girls for castings. We kept a friendship in parallel to the work matters and always use to joke we would do something together one day. The decision to open Arc came in the second semester of 2009 - when we thought we were ready in our minds to open our own business. We believe also to have refined the concept enough to the point the message of what we do is clear and optimistic!

What makes ARC NY unique? What does ARC stand for?

ARC is unique because of the one on one treatment we give to the girls. Either Ryan or myself are always present when they are hosting shows, awards, events, or talking to the press. We believe they feel more confident when we are around - so I guess what makes us unique is our constant personal commitment to them.

The ARC name is very simple - we want to give a name to the company that encapsulates the feeling that we are all under the same ceiling, like a family.

Our office was decorated in a very charming cozy manner - almost like a living room (some people are saying a grandma’s living room because of the earth tones) and its totally fine with us - we want a place that the girls would come and spend time there - they are not very good standing around in offices with stark white light and beach wood desks…. so with the impression of being part of this group, we try to welcome them all in our “living room” in Soho, NY.

(Lorenzo Martone, Jessica White and Ryan Brown)

What is it about models (and supermodels) that you find so attractive? Has the term “supermodel” lost its essence?

We are passionate about models because it’s through them that photographers, stylists, make up artists and all the fashion industry can put a message of beauty out there. They are the canvas for so many artists yet they can add to it with their personalities and charisma. The term “Supermodel” lost a little bit of its essence with the overwhelming invasion of celebrities and actors into the fashion industry. But we believe the concept will come back, and we hope to be big catalysts for that to happen

Take us through a typical day in your lives? What can we expect from an average Wednesday in the lives of Lorenzo and Ryan?

Wednesday? Lol well - for me (Lorenzo) - Its always about making sure the urgent emails (especially those coming from Europe – where they are 6 hours ahead) are answered. That is the grace of emails - the pace they can be exchanged! I kept my position within Chandelier - I thought it was important to keep my first hat in the advertising world exactly because it’s so co-related and it overlaps so much. It’s beneficial for both businesses. So I go there in the morning (After a quick gym session). At Arc - I try to check on all the girls - by then Ryan usually already spoke, BBM, or something, with all of them - so its a catch up where I try to identify any opportunities or any press releases we should be preparing about the night before. We also have started already a couple of projects for 2010 - events, etc so we sit down and follow up about the advancements of it all. Working with the print press means we have to be 3 months ahead. If you want a girl featured in the April book - we have to send the content in January - you know how it is. The web changed completely the deadline structures, for the best. Like I know I’m writing to you today and probably tomorrow or the day after this profile will be up and running - which is VERY exciting! At night usually one of the girls have a work event - mostly with red carpets or press to be done - so we go out with them, sometimes if they have scripts to be memorized we practice with them on the car, its always fun – we have a great group there.

As for Ryan His day starts with the gym as well at 7am (we have to stay fit in this business darling). The emails usually fly between us in the early AM regarding options and press inquiries overseas.  A brief of all the current gossip and news in the industry is important as well in the morning WWD, The NY Post, certain blogs. Wednesday is when the weeklies come out so its about making sure our clients get their press clips and seeing what’s good to pitch for next week. Hitting the phones and CONSTANT communication with journalists from all the media mediums is crucial on any given business day too. It’s all about the pitch. You have to be ferocious when u are a publicist, no just means ask again. With so many blogs and publications needing content its his goal on a day to day to make sure it all happens while also wearing many hats to keep the business going. There is always a lunch with a client or journalist. Midday its back to the phones and by the end of the day its usually an event we both meet at or us brainstorming and discussing future options.

Where do you see the future of modeling and subsequently talent management? What tactics do you want to ensure you achieve to help the industry grow and progress?

The talent / modeling industry is VERY difficult to predict. There is no patterns or so many rules to follow. It’s a highly emotional driven business. For an industry to grow and progress, I keep believing in hard work, professionalism (that means arriving on time, being respectful of the crew, etc) and keep the eyes sparkling.

I think no one enjoys working with jaded personalities. We will keep doing our thing - and keep believing in teamwork. The industry is highly competitive and catty - but if we are all there for each other - I believe we can achieve magnificent results. Remember, the supermodels, weren’t supermodels until they started hanging out together…There is a lesson there…that’s for sure.