GROWING up in Forster Tuncurry he did everything he could to get away. Now, after working his butt off in New York for 12 years, he does everything he can to come back.
Stephen Lee, referred to by The Australian newspaper as ‘Big Apple’s Special Agent’ is home from the world of high fashion, but work is always in his head.
Model agent, talent scout and star springboard, Lee manages some of the hottest girls in the business and looks after many more worldwide through Next Model Management offices in London, Paris, Milan and New York and its affiliate, Chic Management in Sydney. He is always looking for that hot new girl.
“The secret to what I do is that you’re always looking to meet new girls,” he says.
“I truly believe in nurturing talent. I’m interested in potential.”
His track record is so good in turning unknown girls into supermodels that the media seek him out, quizzing him about “What’s new”, “What’s going to be hot”, “Who are you choosing to take back this year”.
Model agencies want to parade their girls before him in the hope that he’ll boost their career. It’s a position the ex-Forster local never thought he’d be in.
He established the career of Gunnedah girl, Miranda Kerr in New York. This season it may well be Jemma Baines. He represents 33 girls, including Abbey Lee Kershaw, Anja Rubik and Karlie Kloss, named “The Body” by editor-in-chief Franca Sozzani in December‘s issue of Vogue Italia.
He has appeared on reality television shows such as New Zealand’s Top Model and Australia’s Next Top Model.
Lee books runway shows for the girls, organizes editorial and advertising campaigns and negotiates contracts.
Girls must be business-savvy and get up and go to work every single day because it’s going to last them 10 years.
They have the potential to earn $8 million for a cosmetic contract, he says, and then they will be able to do what they want.
Part of his job is to partner a girl with a particular brand and mesh them together.
Polynesian born, on Ocean Island in the Pacific Ocean, Lee moved to Forster Tuncurry in 1980 where he attended primary and high school.
Travelling is the big break, he says. At school he wanted to be an airline pilot. He waited tables in almost every top restaurant in Sydney just to earn enough money to travel, before working in a photographic agency in Sydney, then taking a job at Chic Management. He moved to New York to work at Next Model Management directly after September 11, 2001.
His interest in photography was piqued at high school by teacher, Denise Hardinge.
His aesthetic developed from photographers like Peter Lindbergh, Arthur Elgort and Steve Meisel. They’re like the Manets of our time, he said.
Lee, 40, says he’s worked really hard on himself in the last five years to find inner peace.
“I nearly gave the business up a few times because I wasn’t fulfilled. It doesn’t matter what class of airline you travel, if you’re not happy with who you are. It’s the simple things in life that are the most beautiful. For me it became a sense of sobriety.”
A trip home every year is written into his contract.
“I just love here. I’m looking at buying a piece of land in the area. Coming back just makes everything right. It’s a great place,” he muses. “I come back to consolidate and get my feet on the ground and it’s an absolute blessing. I’m Australia’s biggest diplomat when it comes to this area.
“Family keeps me grounded,” he says with a laugh.
“As crazy as they are, I love them.” After a quick trip to Hamilton Island, he will take his brothers hot air ballooning in the Hunter Valley before returning to New York.
At home in his apartment in Tribeca, a nanny looks after his nine month old miniature schnauzer, Beau. “No-one should be denied unconditional love,” he says, “and that’s what a dog gives you.
He will bring a contingent of models, including Karlie Kloss, to this area next year for a high fashion shoot.
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