The ebb in Miami’s modeling industry looks set to start flowing again.
Fashion TV, the Paris-based 24-hour television channel dedicated to all things fashion, is set to open a new studio in the heart of South Beach.
On July 15, Fashion TVs US director fashion photographer Duncan Ross and Womb radio head-honcho John Westley will unveil their new venture: a 4500 square-foot photography studio inside the Lincoln Center. The only one on the Beach to boast natural light.
“There are probably about 250 really good photographers in Miami,” says Ross, perched on a seat inside the newly renovated third-floor space. “I’m a Miami native and I always feel we should be pushing this city. I want to give these photographers a place where they don’t need permits, where it’s safe, and clean.”
Ross plans to videotape the shoots and air behind the scenes footage on Fashion TV -- one of the most widely-distributed satellite channels in the world, viewed by an estimated 300 million people in 202 countries.
“I think 60 percent of the viewers are men,” jokes Ross, trying to explain the station’s success. Founded in Paris in 1997 by current president and French-native Michel Adam Lisowski, Fashion TV programming comprises 24 hours a day of style, fashion, and beauty clips, with 500 hours of new programming annually, 300 catwalks, and approximately 600 new clips every season. “The fact that there is no language, no-one speaking is why it’s so popular – there is never a language barrier,” adds Ross.
Daily rental rates for the studio will begin at approximately $900. In Miami Atlantic Broadband customers can access the network on channel 83. --Joanne Green
