This Elite Booker Might Have The Best Job... Ever

They say that behind every great man stands a great woman. So who stands behind a great looking man?

Stacey Dort has done it all. Between assisting Calvin Klein, co-owning a printing company, developing new models and producing a cooking show, she has accumulated tons of useful experience that planted her right where she is today. And she couldn’t be happier.

Dort is currently the Men’s booker at Elite Model Management Toronto. She is also happily married and has a 12-year-old daughter that she wishes she could spend all of her time with – but unfortunately “parents are so totally uncool”.


Stacey has spent most of her adult life in New York. She’s lived in many places, including Ohio, Florida and Toronto, but New York is still her favourite. However, when asked if she ever plans on moving back, she is quick to abjure.

“There were so many things that I loved about [New York], and we do love to go back and visit, but it is a different mindset from where I am now,” she says. “When we moved away from Toronto the first time, I realized how much I had fallen in love with [Toronto].”

Stacey lives in The Beaches, a quaint neighborhood on the east-end of of the city where there are enough shops and bistros to keep a person permanently entertained. However, she admits that abundance of places to go and things to do, in her free time she likes to stay in and be “a total couch potato.”

And, after a long  work week, it’s difficult to blame her.

Many people have some idea of what being an agent entails, however there’s more to it than the average person might think. It’s not just glitz, glamour, and handsome topless men - although that is part of it.

Today, Stacey tells WOMAN.ca why she loves her job, and what being a top booker is actually all about.

Can you explain what it means to be the Men’s Booker at Elite Model Management Toronto?

It’s so multifaceted. I’ve done a lot of different things but I like this because it pulls everything I’ve ever done together. I scout models, be it on the street, through open calls, referrals, other agencies - or what have you - and then I develop them through styling and just teaching them the basics on how to model.  And then I also have to develop a relationship with the models and actually become friends with them. You have to build relationships with other agencies around the world because that’s where you do a lot of your scouting and where you’ll be sending models for different things. You can’t forget the creative stuff like organizing models books, finding new photographers, deciding which photos go in their books and how you’re going to market them.

Can you describe a typical day at work for you?

I get in and Matti (a co-worker) makes me tea. No – I’m kidding. I go through all my e-mails and make sure that nothing has transpired overnight that needs to be dealt with in the morning. I’ve started this new thing in 2011 where every morning I try to contact one new client, get in touch with a client I haven’t yet spoken with and find one new model. Then I get on with my day, which is seeing what is coming up in the week that hasn’t been confirmed yet, going through other agency websites to find new people, figuring out who might need models at that time and a lot of just keeping in touch with my models and being one step ahead of what’s next.

This seems to be a pretty great gig. How did you land it?

Well, when I moved to Toronto I knew that I wanted to go back to work on a full time basis. I wanted to go into an office because I had been working from home for a while and I missed people. So much of what I had done in the Fashion industry had become useless to me so I was excited to get back to it. I had missed it. I sent out a letter to all of the friends I had stayed in contact with when I moved away saying that I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do but listing all of the things I wanted in a career. Amazingly, my friend Cathy from Plutino Group asked if she could send my resume to Elite. I was called in for an interview a few days later and hired on the spot.

There are obvious perks to being the Men’s Booker at a leading modeling agency – are there any drawbacks?

No way. Well, when I first got the job my husband was so excited for me and then I told him I would be booking the men and he was like “Whaaat?” There was a teeny little bit of jealousy there for a day but he’s totally gotten over it now considering I’m like a million years older than most of the guys. They are so not interested. But drawbacks - no. I love working with my guys. They are so low maintenance. They’re great. I don’t mean this in a derogatory way but they’re like the sons I never had. It’s like having kids. I look out for them, I care for them, I plan their careers, and I want the best for them. We have a really great rapport.

Is that how you expected it to be or are you just feeling lucky?

I definitely thought that they would be more high maintenance. When I was scouting women in New York, it wasn’t as easy dealing with some of the models. I don’t know if it’s a male/female thing or a Canadian/US thing - but something is different.

Is this the job you pictured yourself doing all along?

No. I went to school for Economics. I originally saw myself in a bank. So not me. It didn’t take me too long to figure that out. But I really enjoyed the business aspect of Economics. I had a really cool roommate who asked me what I wanted to do and I told her that I loved Fashion and Magazines and she suggested that I go into the business side of Fashion. So I got a job working for Calvin Klein as an assistant and once I got a taste of what the industry was like I really enjoyed fashion shows. So I thought I was going to go into PR and doing shows in New York City. I wanted to start out at a modeling agency first just so I could get a feel for that end of things since I had already seen some of the fashion side. While working for NEXT Model Management I met my husband and he owned a company in Canada. Eventually I moved to Toronto and all these different things unraveled. And now that I’m here it honestly feels like the perfect thing for me.

Was your job at Calvin Klein your first industry related position?

Yes.

Did you get to do anything exciting while you were there?

Yes! I got to meet the celebrities and dress them for fashion shows and take them to the showroom to shop for special occasions. I got to work on quotes for magazines and spend time with Calvin and I got free clothes! It was fun.

How do you feel that job and other jobs you’ve had prepared you for what you’re doing now?

That job prepared me because it sort of showed me what I liked. It solidified in my mind what I wanted to do. Some of the other jobs I did were more about building confidence. The cooking show, for example, was a big one. I had no experience whatsoever but I decided to take a leap and take everything I had learned about organizing, planning, dealing with people and having a creative vision and turned it all into something. When I pulled that off I was so proud of myself. It showed me that I had learned so much in my life and I could do anything I put my mind to. I gained a confidence that I didn’t necessarily have at the beginning of my career.

I can imagine you’ve met some pretty interesting characters along the way. Is there anyone who has really inspired you or helped your career? Anyone you are grateful to have met?

I am grateful to have met everybody. Everybody has something to offer you. Every experience is a learning experience and you take something from everybody be it good or bad. Joel at NEXT was quite a character. He probably gave me my biggest boost. I started out as an assistant for him and one day he said, “you know what, you’re being wasted. You need to get out into the world.” He put me into scouting and development on the New Faces board. He’s probably the one I would have to be most grateful for because he saw more in me.

Can you think of a time when you felt inadequate or intimidated?

Yes, definitely. My husband and I owned a printing company when we were pretty young. The company got too, big too fast. We became overwhelmed with the growth of the company. We hadn’t thought ahead enough. We didn’t plan far enough into the future. It was a really big struggle. We felt very inadequate at the time. I don’t know if it was immaturity or lack of mentorship. My dad, who had a very successful business, had just passed away and we often went to him for advice. With the loss of him we probably just floundered a bit.

How did you end up getting through it?

We decided we either had to take a lot of money and take things to a whole new level or we had to let somebody gobble it up and make a change. So that’s what we decided to do. We sold it.

Jumping to the present – You’ve got some really great guys on the boards right now. How do you find new talent?

Many different ways. Sometimes people apply online. Some people come in for open call. Some people are found on the street. We all pluck people from the street from time to time. Lately, a lot of it has been through friends of friends. One of my boys, Jason, has just sent me two people! But we also take them from mother agencies or I just browse around online to scout new boys. We’re always poking around on other agency sites to find new talent. If we’re interested, we call and say we love them. A lot of the time mother agencies come to us with new faces, too.

Do you think it’s harder for male models in the industry or do you think that’s just a myth?

It’s definitely harder for guys. There are just way more women’s clothing lines, way more products devoted to women. Photographers, for the most part, prefer to shoot women. And the rates aren’t, typically, as high either. They definitely have barriers. But I do find that there’s increasingly more out there for men. I find that the rates have been increasing after a really bad recession. There have been several new menswear lines and clothing stores in Toronto alone for men that I hope will inspire more and more.

What do you think it takes for men to break the barriers and get really big?

They have to be willing to travel. There are a lot of models who want to be big but don’t want to travel. Toronto is a really great market but you really get to the higher echelons when you can build your image by going overseas and doing different shows and meeting different clients. But they also have to be really charismatic. Models, by definition, are beautiful so there has to be something special about you so that you stand out to the clients after fifty other models have walked through a casting. Charisma translates into the photographs. Two guys can be equally beautiful but if one is just sitting there with a dead expression or lack of movement and the other is just exuding energy then that’s the one whose going to get the job.

Who should we look out for right now? Who’s doing big things?

Jason Poisson just did a beautiful spread in Plaid Magazine. He’s gorgeous. He is in Asia right now and probably going to Europe afterwards. Nick Gonko just came back from Milan. He just did a spread for Men’s FASHION that should be coming out soon. People seem to love Daniel Sanchez but he is leaving me to do Muay Thai in Thailand so I look forward to his return. Eric Belanger is tearing up Europe right now. He’s always been doing really well. He just got signed in New York and LA, which is huge. And I’ve got a few new people. There’s nothing on them yet but there will be soon.

Can you think of a time when you were really proud of one of your boys?

Yes, today! I was really really proud of one of my models today who had made some mistakes while he was away. He’s young but he sent me a really mature and professional e-mail letting me know that stuff has happened but it wasn’t going to affect his professional life. He took accountability and responsibility and was going to change it and I was very proud because that’s the kind of thing that’s going to get him through.

What happens when a model isn’t getting the response you would have liked from clients?

There are different things we can do. We can see if there’s an issue with image that might need to be addressed, be it hair or styling or things like that. Maybe there is something lacking in his book so he isn’t appealing to enough or to the right clients. But if it’s a prolonged thing where say, their personality isn’t coming through in their pictures - we practice and I give them examples and magazines and PowerPoint presentations. If it’s really prolonged then maybe they have to go. Maybe we aren’t the right agency for them. It is a business and I spend a lot of time on each of my guys and if you’ve tried everything you can then sometimes you just have to let them go.

There must have been a time where you couldn’t get in touch with one of your models. Do you have any horror stories?

I was yelling at one of my models last night because the guy doesn’t have a phone. You cannot be a model and not have a phone!  So he promised me that within three days he’ll have a phone. There hasn’t been anything where you can’t get a hold of someone for a job because we do everything so far in advance. Everything is confirmed before hand. If you do a good job, all of your contingencies are covered.

There were very few models from Elite in LG Fashion Week last season because of pay issues – can you tell us a little bit about what was going on with that?

The campaign is called “My Agency Doesn’t Make Me Work For Free”. We try, on a daily basis, to work with the Canadian fashion industry in building it. We have so many talented, amazing designers, photographers, magazines and models. We are responsible for our models and, unfortunately, their time and efforts are worth money. We don’t ask for a lot. They have to pay for parking and public transit and rent. As much as we want to work with everybody we think that it should be a reciprocal thing. We do not send our models out on unpaid jobs.

Have things cleared up? Will we be seeing more models from Elite at LG Fashion Week this time around?

If it’s a paying show – absolutely.

It may sound corny, but you are quite the role model for women today aiming to be successful in or outside of the industry. Do you have any words of wisdom?

I would say that the most important thing I have learnt in my 41 years is to really do what you love. You need to do something that you are excited about everyday. You need to check in with yourself every day to make sure you’re on the right path and if you are, go for it!

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Hayley Brehl
		About the author:
		Hayley Brehl obtained her BA in English and Creative Writing at Concordia University in Montreal. Living there she met designer, Andy The-Anh and assisted him on her days off from poetry class.  That’s when everything changed. She moved back to Toronto and began pursuing a career in fashion. Her favorite things are wedge heels, Indian take-out and her Persian kitten, Moe.
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