Welcome to the Scoop: a weekly email series in which I quiz fashion insiders on the stories of the week. This will be a way for the Vogue Business community to synthesize and reflect on the latest headlines and get a little inside scoop every Friday.
This week’s guest is James Boulter, a talent agent and Vogue Business 100 Innovator. James is one of those entrepreneurial minds who just can’t help but identify gaps in the market. At just 18, he founded a chain of health food bars, and two years later, he began working as a brand consultant. In the process, he came into contact with celebrities and soon realized there was an opportunity in helping them become brands in their own right.
In 2019, James started his own talent agency before being recruited by United Talent Agency (UTA) three years later. He has since been responsible for some of the agency’s landmark deals, including Cynthia Erivo’s global campaign with Mulberry and Priyanka Chopra Jonas’s global ambassadorship at Bvlgari. The latter might have something to do with today’s scoop.
Hi James! What’s the scoop?
Priyanka Chopra [Jonas], who is presenting at the Oscars this Sunday, will be debuting Bvlgari’s new Eclettica collection on the red carpet. It’s a masterpiece from their high jewelry collection, which will be released at their global brand event in Milan later this month.
What does the Eclettica collection look like?
That is a great question. You’ll see on Sunday.
Can’t wait. How long have you and Priyanka been working with Bvlgari?
I introduced Priyanka to Bvlgari four or five years ago. You have to think about how coveted someone like Priyanka has become in terms of a luxury placement. Thinking back to the beginning of awards season and the Golden Globes, she dominated that red carpet as the only actor to have two of the top five luxury placements. She wore Dior, which I think generated something like $5.9 million in earned media value — just for Dior. And Bvlgari was another $4.9 million in earned media value — just by wearing a necklace on the carpet. When you have a moment like that, brands really take note.
And what is the agent’s role in this?
These days, the role of an agent is less as a broker and more like a venture strategist. I encourage the clients that I work with to think like founders. We identify where they have long-term IP opportunities, and match that with capital investment from the right brands to build a full enterprise.
I have been lucky enough to work with some of the OGs in that space. Like Paris Hilton, who, for all intents and purposes, was the original influencer. Or Jessica Alba, who at the height of her fame as an actor in the early noughties, pivoted and launched The Honest Company, which is still the only talent-led brand to successfully IPO. My role is where their long-term IP exists, and in navigating that into a commercial business and ecosystem.
How does a red carpet deal get made?
So that necklace, gown, whatever it might be the talent is wearing, is just the visible part of a much broader piece of negotiation. Those moments, unsurprisingly, are highly strategic and a result of a real team effort behind the talent; it’s a team of different agents, managers, and stylists who are at the coalface of it all. And then, of course, there is the brand itself and the people who work for it, who can offer opportunities beyond a specific placement.
As fashion and entertainment become more intertwined, the talent themselves have direct relationships with creative directors, and their teams do, too. There’s really an entire ecosystem around said talent, and it’s set in motion months before they even step foot onto a carpet. People begin to think about red carpets as soon as a film is tipped to have award credibility.