33THE NEXT... BUSINESS MODEL
FASHION ACCESSORIES

PHOTO: GETTYWITH THE kisses between the fashion and entertainment worlds getting ever less airy, it was not a huge shock in August when celebrity wrangler Simon Fuller’s management firm, 19 Entertainment, acquired a 51% stake in the Storm Model Management, which boasts Kate Moss among its thoroughbred clotheshorses. As well as creating the talent shows American Idol and Pop Idol, Brit Fuller is the so-called svengali behind Brand Beckham.

The deal, said to be worth tens of millions of euros, comes after more than a year of talks and brings together some of the world’s biggest celebrities from fashion, music and sport. Storm has Lily Cole, Cindy Crawford and Eva Herzigova on its books, while 19 looks after a roster of names, from the Beckhams to singer Kelly Clarkson and tennis star Andy Murray.

But will Moss, worth an estimated €4m a year, be part of any Storm windfall? Actually, no. Moss is reportedly tying up with the most irrepressible force in entertainment, Simon Cowell, and retail magnate Philip Green in Greenwell Entertainment, a venture also aiming to merge fashion and entertainment.

34 THE NEXT... FEEL-GOOD MOVEMENT
TEAM EARTH

THE LATEST organisation to make corporations feel warm and fuzzy all over is Team Earth, a project “that brings together businesses, nonprofit organisations, scientists, educators and individuals to maintain sustainability and economic growth”. Conservation International is leading the project, which has been joined by founding partners Dell, SC Johnson, Starbucks, Harrah’s Entertainment and Wrigley.

“This is a moment when leaders around the world need to take action. We cannot afford for our representatives ... not to take action, so we’re mobilising the public,” said Peter Selig-mann, chief executive of Conservation International at the September launch. Starbucks chief executive Howard Schultz added: “In

order to make a sustainable enduring business that’s profitable, you’re also going to have to create a balance between profitability and a social conscience.”

Team Earth says its initial goals include saving the earth’s forests in order to battle climate change. The group has teamed up with the Prince’s Rainforest Project in a joint effort to reduce tropical deforestation while creating new incentives for “environmentally friendly” economic development. “Our individual efforts have been fruitful but history shows that real change is not accomplished through individual efforts but through movements,” said actor and Conservation International board member Harrison Ford at the launch.