II
Portfolio Deep Dive
16 confirmed pieces — 3 shows, 2 campaigns, 9 editorial, 1 cover, 1 lookbook
Runway & Shows — 3 credits
Juana Martin Haute Couture Spring 2023
Juana Martin · Paris · January 26, 2023
Juana Martin is one of Spain's foremost couturiers, with shows on the Paris Haute Couture calendar. This is Ayla's confirmed Haute Couture runway credit — a genuine, rare credential that places her in an elite tier of models who have walked HC shows on the Paris calendar. Her relationship with the View Management team in Spain reinforces this booking.
Market Signal
A Paris HC runway credit is exceptional and rare — fewer than a handful of models in any given season walk Haute Couture. This single credit is the cornerstone of her luxury positioning and directly supports submissions to Chanel, Dior, and rival maisons.
Cynthia Rowley S/S 2025
Cynthia Rowley · New York Fashion Week · September 11, 2024
Active presence at NYFW for the SS2025 season through Elite Model Management New York. Cynthia Rowley has a strong American following and positions Ayla in the US market.
Market Signal
US runway credit through Elite NY. Establishes American market presence for commercial and campaign pushes.
Juzui S/S 2025
Juzui · New York Fashion Week · September 10, 2024
Two shows in one NYFW season signals strong casting relationships in New York. Juzui is a brand with a growing international profile.
Market Signal
Back-to-back NYFW bookings demonstrate Elite NY is actively working her book.
Advertising Campaigns — 2 credits
Canali S/S 2025 Campaign
Canali · January 2025 · Photographer: Ben Weller
Shot by Ben Weller — one of the most sought-after fashion photographers in luxury menswear and editorial. Art direction by Marco Braga & Giuliano Federico. Casting Director: Simone Bart Rocchietti. Canali is a premium Italian menswear house with global distribution and a high campaign budget. This is her most significant commercial credit to date.
Market Signal
Luxury campaign credits with internationally recognized photographers unlock a different tier of castings. Canali proves she books, not just walks — a critical distinction for commercial agencies. The Simone Bart Rocchietti connection is directly reactivatable.
Advertising Campaign #2
Additional advertising credit — details unlisted
A second advertising campaign credit on her models.com portfolio. Even without named details, two advertising credits in an early career signals consistent commercial appeal to casting directors.
Market Signal
Campaign credits compound. Each one makes the next booking easier by proving she delivers commercial results.
Editorial — 9 credits
HIGH RISE — Chanel FW22/23 HC Collection Feature
Revs Magazine · Editorial · 2022 · Photographer: Federico Cabrera
A high-concept editorial in Revs Magazine featuring Chanel Fall-Winter 2022/23 Haute Couture pieces. Shot by Federico Cabrera, this editorial demonstrates Ayla's ability to carry couture-level garments in a magazine context — a different but equally valuable credential from runway work.
Market Signal
An editorial featuring Chanel HC pieces signals she's considered for Chanel-adjacent work. The visual language of couture editorials directly supports luxury brand submissions.
"Reconnect to Nature"
Elle Kazakhstan · December 2023 · Photographer: Elya Saiapina
Elle Kazakhstan is part of the global Elle network — one of the world's most recognized fashion magazine brands. An Elle editorial (any edition) signals editorial-tier bookability and cross-market appeal.
Market Signal
International Elle credit demonstrates she shoots compelling editorial. Elya Saiapina connection is worth cultivating for a beauty-focused editorial push toward L'Oréal submissions.
"Halah"
Schön Magazine · May 2023 · Photographer: Jacco Meysner
Schön is an internationally distributed luxury fashion magazine known for its distinctive visual language. Jacco Meysner is a respected Dutch photographer. This pairing — Dutch model, Dutch photographer, international magazine — suggests a strong creative collaboration worth revisiting.
Market Signal
Schön editorial is notable for its curatorial standards. Jacco Meysner should be in her active photographer network for future editorial projects.
Editorial Credits 3–8
6 additional editorial pieces · Various publications
Six additional editorial credits across various publications complete her editorial book at models.com. This volume of editorial work at her career stage is solid and demonstrates consistent bookability across publications.
Market Signal
9 total editorial credits with her 8.8 editorial score on Model-Scouting creates a compelling package for luxury campaign submissions requiring editorial credibility.
Magazine Covers & Lookbook
Magazine Cover — 1 credit
Cover credit · Publication unlisted
A magazine cover credit is a milestone in any model's career. Cover work demonstrates that a model is considered strong enough to anchor an entire issue's visual identity — a higher bar than interior editorial work.
Market Signal
Cover credit elevates agency pitch materials significantly. More covers = higher comp card position.
Lookbook — 1 credit
Commercial lookbook
Lookbook credits demonstrate clean, wearable commercial shooting ability — a different skillset from editorial. Important for commercial campaign submissions.
V
The Revenue Playbook
What she can control directly — five levers, in order of impact
Important context
All agency communication goes through Ulla Models (mother agency). Ayla cannot directly email other agencies or casting directors — that would undermine the mother agency relationship. She doesn't do runway work. Everything below focuses only on what she can control directly.
A
Instagram: From 5K to 50K — The System That Runs Itself
The 5,130 followers number is the single biggest drag on her commercial earning potential. But the blocker isn't motivation — it's that "posting in the moment" requires breaking a moment and asking someone to take a photo, which rarely happens. The fix is a system, not discipline.
The System
01Weekly shoot block: 90 minutes once a week, Paris location, outfit changes, batch 6–8 images. Done. No breaking real moments.
02Repurpose what already exists: Campaign imagery (Canali), editorial photos (Revs, Elle Kazakhstan, Schön) — these can all be posted. Each editorial = 4–6 individual posts.
03Reels/video from bookings: Behind-the-scenes footage from shoots and jobs — this exists and is highly engaging. Short clips, no talking required.
04Paris lifestyle angle: International brands pay premium for Paris-based lifestyle content. The city is the asset. One weekly walk from a Paris neighborhood with a friend holding the phone = content.
05What NOT to do: Don't try to post daily from scratch. Batch, schedule, and post. A week of content takes 2 hours if batched.
At 50K followers with her existing credentials (Canali campaign, Juana Martin HC, Schön, Elle Kazakhstan), she becomes eligible for:
Direct brand DMs (brands actively hunt 50K+ models) · Paid Instagram partnerships ($2,000–$8,000 per post for models with her credit level and niche) · Beauty brand gifted-to-paid pipeline (starts gifted, converts to paid at 25K+)
B
One Strategic Email to Ulla — Not 'Push Harder', But 'Push Here'
She's right that Ulla is already active. The email isn't about effort — it's about direction. There's a difference between being submitted broadly and being submitted to the right categories. One targeted ask:
Subject: Strategic Push — Beauty & Luxury Goods Campaigns
Hi [Ulla booker name],
Quick strategic question — are we actively submitting to beauty and skincare casting directors? That's where I want to grow. My Canali campaign credit + blue eyes profile makes me a strong fit for hair/skincare campaigns (L'Oréal-tier), and I'd love to know which beauty clients you're currently pitching me to. If it's not a current focus, can we discuss adding that lane?
Also: would it help if I sent you 2-3 new portrait selects specifically suited for beauty submissions? Happy to pull those together.
Thanks,
Ayla
Why this matters
Many agencies default to submitting models to the categories they've already booked. If Ulla hasn't deliberately targeted beauty, it may simply not be on their radar as a priority for her. One email changes that.
C
Direct Brand Pipeline — The Instagram DM Game
At 5K followers, brands don't DM. At 50K+, they do. But even now, she can start building direct brand relationships:
01Tag brands in posts featuring their clothes (Canali, Schön-featured brands) — brands monitor this
02Respond to brand stories/posts — gets on radar at community manager level
03Research which brands are using models with her exact profile on Instagram (search by hashtag #dutchmodel, #parisbased) — DM their brand account with a clean professional introduction and portfolio link
04Submit directly via brand websites (many luxury brands have an open casting/model submission page)
D
Build the Beauty Tearsheet Before the Booking
She has zero beauty/skincare/hair editorial credits. This isn't a booking problem — it's a portfolio problem she can fix herself:
01Reach out to Jacco Meysner (already shot together for Schön) and propose a beauty-focused shoot — clean skin, close-up, minimal clothing
02Same with Elya Saiapina (Elle Kazakhstan) — propose a beauty/natural light concept
03These don't need to be paid jobs. The tearsheet opens the door to paid beauty submissions
04A single strong beauty editorial (even self-produced) gives Ulla something new to pitch her for, and gives her Instagram hero content
The ROI
Cost: collaboration fee or low-budget shared production with the photographer. Beauty campaigns pay 2–5x editorial rates. The math makes this the highest-leverage investment she can make right now.
E
5 Brands Worth Direct Contact Right Now
While agencies handle formal bookings, models can and do submit directly to certain brands. These are worth targeting now:
| Massimo Dutti |
Has an open model submission form; her Canali campaign is a direct credential |
| Zara |
Commercial volume, direct casting submissions at casting@inditex.com |
| Mango |
European commercial, accepts direct comp card submissions |
| & Other Stories |
H&M Group premium brand, casts via direct submissions frequently |
| COS |
High-fashion adjacent commercial; loves editorial-looking models; direct casting |
Context
These are not her ceiling — they're her income floor. Commercial brands at this level pay consistently and keep her working between editorial/luxury bookings. Even one Zara season = significant income.
VII
Comparable Models
Who she should benchmark against — and what's possible
Note: These are benchmarks for career trajectory and earning potential — not runway comparison. All of these models have strong campaign and editorial portfolios that drive their income.
🇩🇰
Frederikke Sofie
Danish · A Management
Same A Management roster. Has done major luxury campaigns across European market. Direct reference point for what's achievable with her agency infrastructure.
🇳🇱
Danique van Heerde
Dutch · Similar look profile
Dutch, tall, blue eyes — near-identical look profile. Tracking her casting choices and brand affiliations is a direct strategic map for Ayla's next moves.
🇳🇱
Rianne van Rompaey
Dutch · 5'10" · Chanel, Valentino
Dutch, 5'10", has done Chanel, Valentino, and major luxury campaigns. The gold standard for where Ayla can realistically go. Same physical archetype, same nationality. The trajectory is comparable — editorial excellence → luxury campaigns → top-tier runway. Ayla is at stage one of that arc.
🇳🇱
Maartje Verhoef
Dutch · Chanel Veteran
Dutch, multiple Chanel credits, established luxury career. Maartje's Chanel career proves the Dutch model → Chanel path is real. Ayla has the right look, the right agency infrastructure, and one HC runway credit — the ingredients are there.
The Dutch Model Archetype: Doutzen Kroes, Rianne van Rompaey, Maartje Verhoef, Ymre Stiekema — Dutch models have an exceptional track record at the industry's highest levels. Ayla fits this archetype precisely in look, measurements, and early career credits. The precedent isn't aspirational; it's documented. The path exists. The question is execution.