This Modeling Agency Says Ugly is the New Beautiful

Calling all chubby women and geeky men – no size is too big and no human face too ugly. That’s right, Ugly Models, the British modeling agency created 40 years ago, believes ugly to be the new beautiful.

When the company launched in 1969, they placed an ad in a newspaper stating: “Have you got an interesting face? Contact ugly.” Since then, the rest is history. Their models have worked for Calvin Klein, Levis and Italian Vogue among others. But their models are not only demanded by the fashion industry. They have also been part of movies like Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean and James Bond. The agency also has an agreement with Guinness World Records to recruit the “tallest man in the world” as well as “the women with most piercing of the planet” and “the most tattooed person of the moment.”

“We like our women fat and our men geeky, we like the extremely tall and the shockingly small. No one is too abstract for our books! We are Ugly. And we are the leaders in character modeling” is how the agency describes itself. Ugly Model Agency recruits everyone ranging from taxi drivers to bearded ladies. Looks like there’s a place for everyone! So if you have an interesting face and were dreaming of hitting it big in fashion magazines and the catwalk – here’s your chance!

Born and raised in Spain, Lara is a digital producer and writer for Fusion — covering stories in culture and technology as well as in-depth environmental issues across the globe.