As Silverfox agency closes its doors, managing director Rebecca Swaney talks to Viva about where to next for older models and actors in New Zealand. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis has never just been about modelling. It\u2019s been about visibility. Confidence. Relationships. Changing the narrative. And that doesn\u2019t end here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n Those were
\n the words managing director Rebecca Swaney penned earlier this month, for the announcement she was closing Silverfox, an agency representing models and actors aged between 30 and 90.\n <\/p>\n
The decision to close the business comes following Silverfox\u2019s most successful year. In the past 12 months, Swaney says Silverfox has seen the highest model fees in the agency\u2019s history. <\/p>\n
She spent some time looking for a buyer before making the decision to shutter. <\/p>\n
A combination of workload and personal circumstance \u2013 last year, her mother was diagnosed with dementia \u2013 led her to the decision. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn many ways, Silverfox was the thing that kept me buoyant … To be honest, I think I ran out of steam last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll my models will go off and do amazing things. The world just keeps continuing … we are an important part in it, but we\u2019re just a part.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silverfox Management was originally founded in Sydney in 2015 by model Brigitte Warne and PR expert Georgia Branch. The aim was to represent models and talent over 30 years old \u2013 they stumbled upon the idea when the two were laughing about the absurdity of Brigitte, who was in her mid-20s at the time, being categorised as a \u2018mature\u2019 model. <\/p>\n
The business grew across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Byron Bay and New Zealand. In 2017, Warne and Branch, who are based in Sydney, decided to see if they could find a buyer for the Silverfox license for Aotearoa New Zealand. <\/p>\n
After a varied career working in administration, promotions and presenting (she was the face of Harrisons for more than 12 years), Swaney was looking to manage her own business. A broker introduced her to Silverfox, suggesting her background was well-suited to model and talent management. At first, she was surprised. <\/p>\n
Rebecca Swaney, the managing director of Silverfox.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf someone had said, \u2018you\u2019re going to have a modelling and talent agency …\u2019 I was like, that\u2019s just crazy,\u201d she tells Viva. <\/p>\n
\u201cI pushed it away for a few months. It just kept nudging me.\u201d <\/p>\n
Convinced by the mix of creativity and structure Silverfox offered, Swaney bought the licence and started building up the books. It was a moment that changed the way she perceived her own skillset. <\/p>\n
\u201cLittle Rebecca doing secretarial work for what I thought was way too long, but actually, it was a really core strength of mine.\u201d <\/p>\n
Swaney, who is 58, says she connected strongly with the purpose of Silverfox. She saw similar gaps for representation within NZ that Warne and Branch had noticed in Australia. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a no-brainer. I started to realise there was a hole in the market.\u201d <\/p>\n
Rewa Harker on the runway for Campbell Luke at New Zealand Fashion Week: Kahuria 2023. Photo \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
The reception from both industry and audiences was almost exclusively celebratory, Swaney says. There was just one unpleasant phone call, where someone made a case against Silverfox\u2019s mission because they weren\u2019t interested in seeing mature models in campaigns. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was like, you are just not getting it … It was just the typical person stuck in that rut.\u201d <\/p>\n
Silverfox models have been prominent faces within local fashion and the broader media landscape. They\u2019ve walked runways for New Zealand Fashion Week: Kahuria and Australian Fashion Week and fronted major campaigns. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy favourite thing was when brands wanted to mix the age groups in a campaign. It\u2019s just so glaringly obvious \u2013 the beauty of different-looking women and how they complement each other,\u201d Swaney says.<\/p>\n
For Rewa Harker (Ng\u0101ti Kahungunu), the agency provided an unexpected avenue to a whole new career. She walked NZFW\u2019s runway for Campbell Luke, starred in advertising campaigns and featured on a Viva cover. (The latter happened within her first week of signing with the agency). <\/p>\n
Rewa Harker for Viva in 2019. Photo \/ Babiche Martens<\/p>\n
\u201cSilverfox has changed my life in the most positive ways,\u201d Harker says. \u201cI celebrate my age, my wrinkles and all that comes with getting older. It\u2019s fantastic to be in an industry where I can contribute to exposing older women in such a positive way, making us visible and still relevant. <\/p>\n
\u201c[Rebecca] has become a dear friend for life and gave me a modelling career I didn\u2019t imagine.\u201d <\/p>\n
Since the closure, with Swaney\u2019s encouragement, Harker has found representation with Red Eleven. She senses a change within the wider industry. <\/p>\n
\u201cEarly on, I sometimes felt a little out of place amongst all the young, gorgeous models but I feel brands are evolving and embracing older models.\u201d <\/p>\n
Still, Harker says the industry will feel the absence of an agency that specifically champions models over 30.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s such a loss,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Amanda Bransgrove on the runway for Mastani at Australian Fashion Week 2024. Photo \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
Veteran model and WoolTraceNZ founder Amanda Bransgrove says Silverfox felt like a \u201csisterhood\u201d.<\/p>\n
In 2017, the agency encouraged her to return to modelling at 57, after taking a three-year break from the profession to reset and reconsider. At Silverfox, she connected strongly to the purpose of visibility. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt smashes the glass ceilings society pretends don\u2019t exist. Mature women have been erased from fashion, yet we hold the real purchasing power.\u201d<\/p>\n
She has gone on to walk in fashion weeks across New Zealand and Australia, work alongside creatives like Jasmine Sparrow, and star in campaigns for Shjark and Tronque. <\/p>\n
\u201cSilverfox handed me the platform to be unapologetically myself,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t just an agency. It was a reminder that we are still powerful, still desirable, still here.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the wake of the news of Silverfox\u2019s closure, Bransgrove briefly considered stepping away from modelling but has now decided to continue, with the support of her peers \u2013 she is now working with both Unique Models and Monarch. <\/p>\n
\u201cOther agencies are now following suit, deliberately making room for mature women. Funny, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Amanda Bransgrove on the runway for the opening showcase at New Zealand Fashion Week: Kahuria 2026. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
When Swaney bought Silverfox, she represented 11 models. Over the seven years, it\u2019s grown to more than 110. <\/p>\n
The past few weeks have involved plenty of communications with other agencies, who are keen to get her talent on to their books. <\/p>\n
Swaney is considering new opportunities within ageing and retirement. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are an ageing population. We\u2019re all getting older. And ageing is hard. It\u2019s really, really hard. So don\u2019t make it harder on people \u2013 being made to feel more invisible the older they get.\u201d <\/p>\n
The news of the closure has been met with plenty of encouragement, and as Harker and Bransgrove say, Swaney has made her mark. She\u2019s ready for what is next. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m proud of myself … and it\u2019s okay to go, \u2018that\u2019s not my journey anymore, I want to do something else.\u2019 I think we forget how we can lean into other things and pivot.\u201d <\/p>\n
More local fashion<\/p>\n
From city-centric style to slow fashion practices.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Silverfox agency closes its doors, managing director Rebecca Swaney talks to Viva about where to next for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":395437,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1443,6946,3041,95,18509,6789,3936,6741,156,2082,29419,3935,5289,111,139,1536,69,24808,90,64578,6180,204350,204348,204349,301,223,9873,159,540,4276,80],"class_list":{"0":"post-395436","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-about","9":"tag-actors","10":"tag-agency","11":"tag-and","12":"tag-closes","13":"tag-closing","14":"tag-director","15":"tag-doors","16":"tag-entertainment","17":"tag-for","18":"tag-go","19":"tag-managing","20":"tag-models","21":"tag-new-zealand","22":"tag-newzealand","23":"tag-next","24":"tag-nz","25":"tag-older","26":"tag-on","27":"tag-rebecca","28":"tag-shes","29":"tag-silverfox","30":"tag-silverfoxs","31":"tag-swaney","32":"tag-talks","33":"tag-the","34":"tag-theyll","35":"tag-viva","36":"tag-where","37":"tag-why","38":"tag-zealand"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=395436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395436\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/395437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=395436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=395436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=395436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}