Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/361673
PhotograPhy by Marie Wu (LagerfeLd); Sandy Poirier (oribe) HEAD SHOTS The model agent talks about the good, bad, and ugly. the boston look "It's aspirational, or the girl or guy next door. She or he looks like someone you might know, but the more perfect, polished version." local talent "Maggie Inc.'s network is vast given our history, so a lot of our people come to us from photographers, clients, or other models. Boston being a college town always brings a fresh crop of new faces every September." by the book "A model's portfolio is built over time. It always starts with one good test and builds from there, but I treat the portfolio like a living thing—always taking old shots out, putting in new ones, and adjusting it as the market changes." chic eats "I recently went to Bastille Kitchen, which is, hands down, my new favorite." fashion week update "Maggie Inc. will be booking the models for the Firas Yousif runway show on October 10." Casey had been a dr iv- ing force behind t he scenes at Magg ie for a lmost a decade when, t wo yea rs ago, he bought t he agency, which he r uns w it h a mix of passion a nd prag mat ism, a long w it h a modicum of sna rk. Says t he 35 -yea r- old w it h a g r in, "My t herapist recent ly sa id, 'You've t a lked about age a nd weight in every session.' I said, 'I've been a model agent since age 19.'" Represent ing 4 0 0 models t hroughout New England, Casey counts among his many successes Olivia Culpo, Miss USA 2012, who is now pursu- ing an acting career in Los A ngeles. "He helped me discover a skill set I didn't even know I had," says t he 22 -yea r - old Culpo, remember ing how Casey assisted her in landing a role in the hit com- edy Ted. "That comfort in front of the camera and my pa ssion for it —I didn't k now I loved it a nd could do it." Ca sey's abilit y to see a n oppor t unit y comes f rom persona l exper ience. T he son of a single mother, he grew up in Revere, until a scholarship to the Newman School brought him to the Back Bay. "I couldn't just have the A. I had to have the highest A," he says. "I looked at [high school] like a job." He enrolled in Boston Universit y, got a sum mer inter nship at Magg ie in 19 9 9, a nd ha s never left. "I just fell in love," he reca lls of meet - ing Magg ie Tr ichon, t he husky-voiced, pull-no - punches na me behind t he agency. Tr ichon ra n Magg ie for 30 years and built its reputation as a prima donna – free zone with big names like Tea Leoni, Scot t Brow n ( yes, that Scot t Brow n—t he for mer US senator modeled while st udy ing at Boston College Law School), and Victoria Rowell. "I said, 'I need to do whatever I can to be around t his woma n,'" Ca sey reca lls. She wa s "a la rger - than-life character who you will see on T V or in movies but would never imagine actually existed in real life." He quickly moved up the ranks to head booker, but a new cha llenge a rose when mult iple ca ncer diag noses forced Tr ichon to step back f rom t he agency's day-to - day operat ions (now ret ired, she lives in Florida). "I had never done a booking all the way through on my own," Casey says. "I kept the door to her office closed all the time so if some- one popped by, they'd think she was in a meeting. We always played it up that she was more involved than she ever was again." Lea r ning to r un t he operat ion on his ow n, he nurtured client relat ionships wit h feverish devo- tion. Samantha Colt, the boutique scheduling and talent coordinator for Rue La La, says the fashion "I KepT The dOOr TO MAggIe'S OFFIce clOSed SO IF SOMeOne pOpped BY TheY'd ThInK She wAS In A MeeTIng. we plAYed IT up ThAT She wAS Much MOre InvOlved." —robert casey e-commerce company has hired Maggie models nearly every week for five years: "We have seven sets we run daily. Casey is one of the only agencies where his girls work with us so frequently." I f client s appreciate Ca sey's professiona lism a nd ability to meet tight deadlines, Maggie's mod- els love his no -nonsense st yle a nd keen eye for t a lent. He began to represent Abby Lynn of Andover a little more than a year ago, a deal that led to the 15 -year-old signing with Wilhelmina Models in New York in April. "Casey was very open and honest about t he business," says t he model's mot her, Leela Ba kshi. "He rea lly t a lked to Abby about school being her number - one job. He sa id, 'Treat t his like your ba llet cla ss or g ui- t a r lesson.' A s a pa rent , I rea lly appreciated it." Groom ing a prom ising new t a lent to be a super model is a lways a delight , Ca sey says, but t he drop -ins, obsessed w it h celebr it y cult ure, ex haust him. "I met with one beautiful girl—petite, beautiful sk in, had ver y interest ing pict ures. I sa id, 'You have the chance to book some work in this indus- try.' She said, 'I just want to walk for Chanel and meet Ma rc Jacobs.' She burst into tea rs when I sa id, 'Ma rsha lls, T.J. Ma x x.' I sa id, 'T his isn't going to work.'" He escorted her to the elevator, then went back to his office, leaving the door open to the next possibility. BC below: A caricature of Karl Lagerfeld sits in Robert Casey's office. right: Casey with celebrity hairstylist Oribe. cOnTInued FrOM pAge 67... 68 bostoncommon-magazine.com PEOPLE View from the Top