PRESS
Vogue
Why the Fashion World Needs to Commit to an 18+ Modeling Standard
Early this year, in the wake of #MeToo revelations, Condé Nast, the publisher of Vogue and many other magazines, issued a new global vendor code of conduct. Responding to stories about models both male and female being inappropriately touched, pressured for sexual favors, and even assaulted, Condé Nast established provisions aimed to ensure that all its editorial shoots are safe working spaces—harassment-free zones with private dressing rooms and allowances for model approval of both poses and clothing.
Wall Street Journal
A Different Kind of Girl Scout
The Clarkes may be located far outside the world's fashion capitals but they are among the most successful independent scouts, occupying a vital link on the fashion industry food chain. Top agencies in New York and abroad rely on the couple's uncanny ability to identify beautiful people at gas stations, Dairy Queens and high school gymnasiums and make them into high-fashion models. One of Ms. Clarke's early discoveries was Ashton Kutcher, then a teenager.
ABC Nightline
Scouting Out Models of the Midwest
It's not even Thanksgiving yet, but already the race is underway in New York to get ready for spring Fashion Week and the search is on for that next it girl or guy. But you don't have to be in New York, Paris, or Milan to get discovered. As it turns out, middle America is actually a goldmine for fresh-faced, untapped modeling potential.
Vogue
Midwestern Models Are Having a Moment
Though the bulk of the industry’s attention often goes to international fashion hubs like London, Milan, and Paris, America’s heartland has long provided the modeling industry with a wealth of talent. Several of the industry’s biggest names got their breaks when spotted by super scouts Jeff and Mary Clarke of Mother Model Management, who travel the country in search of young men and women with runway potential.
Entertainment Tonight
Meet the Couple Responsible for the Careers of Ashton Kutcher, Karlie Kloss and More Midwest Stars
Fashion is usually associated with cities like New York and Paris, but many of your favorite models came from America's heartland, thanks to Jeff and Mary Clarke, the husband and wife behind Mother Model Management. Kutcher and fellow Midwesterner Karlie Kloss are just two of the talented people the Clarkes discovered. Kutcher was still in college when Mary, who also hails from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, spotted the young man in a bar and put him on the path that would lead to his illustrious career.
5' ELEVEN'' Magazine
Jeff and Mary Clarke at Mother Model Management from St Louis have an astounding 25 years of experience as a mother agents behind them and it shows. They found supermodels Karlie Kloss and Grace Hartzel to name but a few. With experience comes knowledge which they now apply to their 25 models and 15-20 new faces, as well as exploring their passion projects, Tribute Fashion Fest and Seek Find You events.
HEC
Model Scouts
What do top stars Ashton Kutcher, Karlie Kloss and Grace Hartzel have in common? Each was discovered in the Midwest by Jeff and Mary Clarke of Mother Model Management in St. Louis. Called the “The Fairy God Parents of the Modeling World’ and “Powerhouse Model Scouts” by Australian Harpers Bazaar, the duo scouts talent at shopping malls, bars, restaurants, concerts and regularly hold open calls in St. Louis.
The Atlantic
The Midwest, Home of the Supermodel
Jeff and Mary Clarke describe themselves as being “like stalkers, but the good kind.” They’re scouts who roam suburban malls and fast-food joints in search of teenagers who might have what it takes to become high-fashion models. If you live in somewhere in the Central time zone and have the physique of a pipe cleaner, there’s a chance the Clarkes might approach you while you’re ordering a Blizzard and ask, “Have you ever thought about being a model?"
The Fashion Spot
Secrets of Scouting: The Team That Discovered Karlie Kloss on How to
Become a Model
Did you know that two of the most famous independent model scouts in the country live all the way out in Missouri? Meet Jeff and Mary Clarke, the husband and wife behind Mother Model Management, the infamous agency that discovered 13-year-old Karlie Kloss and a little known Iowa teenager by the name of Ashton Kutcher. We sat down with the duo to find out the secrets to their success and tips on how to become a model.
Glam, Inc.
I’m a Model Scout | Behind The Seams
Mary Clarke runs Mother Model Management, a St. Louis modeling agency that discovered stars like Karlie Kloss and Ashton Kutcher. Hear her story and follow a day in her life during New York Fashion Week, when one of her models hits the runway for the first time.
Glam, Inc.
I’m a Rookie Model
Go inside the fashion industry with rookie model Alanna Arrington, and see how her management team took the teen from Iowa to the runway at New York Fashion Week.
Daily Mail
Hotshot Scout Duo Who Found a 13-Year-Old Karlie Kloss in St. Louis and Student Ashton Kutcher in an Iowa Bar Reveal Why the Midwest Is Best for Finding Supermodels
The model scouts who are behind the discovery of Karlie Kloss and Ashton Kutcher have said that their success comes from being based in the Midwest. Jeff and Mary Clarke, of Mother Model Management, scour shopping malls, fast-food restaurants, and local fairs looking for teens who look like they could be the next top high-fashion model.
Show Me St. Louis
Putting the Midwest on the Modeling Map
More than four thousand miles from Paris, Milan, or London in an old brick building on Locust is a business known around the world for finding just the right face and frame for the most famous fashion designers in the world.
St. Louis Magazine
The Minds Behind Mother Model Management
After launching the careers of Karlie Kloss and Ashton Kutcher, founders Jeff and Mary Clarke keep spotting stars.
St. Louis Magazine
Mother Model Management Moves into the City
Mother Model Management has taken its name and its business philosophy to the next level with a new live-work space on Locust, where Midtown and Grand Center meet in a confluence of university buildings and art and performance venues that serve as magnets for creative types and their pursuits.
St. Louis Business Journal
St. Louis Character: Spotting the Next Face of Fashion With Mary Clarke
It took a Mount Everest-like climb out of the lowest point in her life for the co-founder of Mother Model Management, Mary Clarke, to land where she is today.
Business Model Magazine
The Agents: Mother Model
Founded by Jeff and Mary Clarke in St. Louis, Missouri, Mother Model is one of the top management and scouting agencies in the United States, if not the world. From developing Ashton Kutcher and Karlie Kloss to up-and-comers Grace Hartzel and Jennie Runk, there's no denying Mother Model's eye for talent. We spoke to Mary Clarke of Mother Model about how the industry has changed, the importance of models having their own voice, and how amongst a bevy of new mother agencies, Mother Model has remained in a league of their own.
FOX 2
Aspiring models can get career tips this weekend at fashion show
Responsible for discovering top modeling stars Ashton Kutcher and Karlie Kloss, Mother Model Management's Mary Clarke is now offering aspiring models her tips on how to get the attention of the world's top agents.
Riverfront Times
The It Girls: The Next Supermodel May Be Coming From a High School Near You
Karlie Kloss has sauntered down innumerable Fashion Week runways in impossibly high heels. She has grown accustomed to walking past a newsstand and seeing her face on the cover of a glossy magazine. Some say she could be the next American supermodel. But she's still a sixteen-year-old girl from Webster Groves, and if there's a trampoline in the back yard, she's going to jump on it.
The Gazette
Global modeling agency stages fashion show where journey began
Mary and Jeff Clarke of Mother Model Management in St. Louis are bringing their 20th anniversary Tribute show to Cedar Rapids, where their journey began. The event, on Saturday, July 29, features a New York-style runway show at the Coliseum inside Veterans Memorial Building in downtown Cedar Rapids.