The relationship between Hollywood and luxury fashion continues to evolve, as brands increasingly look beyond traditional celebrity endorsements to build deeper, more strategic partnerships with talent.
“It’s not about one-offs anymore,” said Joseph Thornton-Allan, who co-leads fashion brand partnerships at William Morris Endeavor, helping connect talent with fashion houses and shaping the partnerships that define their careers. “It genuinely is about relationships. So many of my clients have genuine, authentic relationships with designers, and they’ve been with them for years and years.”
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With more than a decade of experience across IMG and WME, his roster includes Bella Hadid, Claudia Schiffer, Iris Law, Addison Rae and Camila Morrone, alongside emerging names like Esmé Creed-Miles, Moses Martin and Noah Jupe.
The industry has changed considerably over the course of his career, he said. Luxury brands are working with an increasingly broad range of talent, including actors, musicians, models and digital creators.
“Fashion isn’t in silo anymore,” said Thornton-Allan, who is originally from the U.K. “People want to be able to touch all areas. Brands want to be able to touch all areas in a very authentic way.”
Adapting to the shift means developing strategies around each client’s career and upcoming projects. For musicians, that could involve bringing fashion houses into an album launch, music video or tour, while for actors, partnerships might be timed around a major film release or television project.
“We always like to look at what do we want, what’s the end goal, what do we want to achieve,” he said. “All of my conversations will be geared toward who is able to jump on board of this journey with us. Who’s part of that branding? Who’s part of this message that we want to send?”
At WME, part of the strategy involves identifying emerging actors who are gaining momentum ahead of awards season and developing a plan to increase their visibility within fashion. By connecting different departments across the agency, Thornton-Allan and his team work to position talent for opportunities with luxury houses at key moments in their careers.
“How do we make sure that every up-and-coming actress or actor who’s being tipped for awards season is being infiltrated into our team?” he said. “And from there, it’s like, ‘What’s the plan? What’s the strategy? How are we making sure that that gets maximum visibility in fashion?'”
While social media reach and engagement remain considerations, Thornton-Allan said a talent’s ability to communicate a brand’s identity can be just as valuable, particularly when it comes to emerging names. He notes Saint Laurent and Dior as examples of fashion houses embracing this approach, bringing together established stars and emerging talent who may have smaller audiences but help shape a brand’s identity.
“You have your emerging talent who probably don’t have as much reach as your big talent or the same sort of pull or engagement, but they set the tone and they set the branding and the message that they want to get across really well,” he said.
Those relationships also follow designers between fashion houses.
“People bring their clients to different houses,” he said. “They leave a house, and then they kind of create something new and bring in someone new to the fold.”
Thornton-Allan’s career began as a styling assistant to Harry Lambert before moving into casting, eventually finding his way into talent representation after becoming interested in the business side of fashion.
“I loved the creativity of a project coming together and being part of that process,” he said. “I needed both of my brains to scratch that itch of doing a contract, doing a deal, having that negotiation, but then also seeing the creative, being part of the visual journey.”
He went on to work at Premier Model Management before being recruited by the late Ivan Bart to join IMG Models, where he held roles across Australia, New York and London. He later transitioned to WME, moving to Los Angeles last year after several years in the company’s London office.
Joseph Thornton-Allan and Iris Law
At WME, his role connects the agency’s fashion, entertainment, music and sports divisions, helping identify opportunities for talent across the company. He also works closely with WME Fashion’s wider network, including Art + Commerce, which represents photographers, and The Wall Group, whose roster includes hairstylists, makeup artists and fashion stylists.
“We really sort of drive that machine of making sure all the dots are connected,” he explained.
Much of the work happens behind the scenes, through introductions, meetings and conversations with designers and brand executives, often long before a formal partnership takes shape.
“I’ll sit with them, have a coffee,” he said. “Ideas will come out. I’ll learn about their projects. They’ll learn about some of the things that I have coming out with clients. Then they call me the following week and they’re like, ‘Oh, what you said stuck with me. I actually would love to do this.'”
For emerging talent in particular, securing a major luxury campaign can take time. It’s key to introduce clients to the right people, bringing them to fashion events and helping them establish their own connections with designers and brands, Thornton-Allan said.
“It’s really hard to be able to click your fingers and appear in a campaign,” he went on. “There’s a lot of work that goes into the back end of it.”
Ultimately, he sees the process as a collaboration that requires investment from both the agent and the talent, with the most meaningful partnerships developing over time.
“It’s a journey,” he said. “It’s something that you go on together, and the end result is always so rewarding because there’s a lot of work that goes into it.”
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