Emily and the models who held the room at the Bureau's LA Fashion Week opening, judged on presence, carriage, the camera and professionalism, the parts of Eileen Ford's standard that still hold.
Some 60,000 hopefuls a year came through Eileen Ford’s open houses and scouting trips. She estimated about 30 a year made it. We use her checklist, minus the body rules, on the runway we photographed Friday.
By Anthony Perlas · Nightlife Report · Oct. 17, 2026
WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Ford Models co-founder Eileen Ford ran one of the hardest funnels in fashion. The Associated Press reported that about 60,000 people a year came to the agency’s open houses and scouting trips, about 100 reached the testing stage, and she estimated about 30 established a foothold. Here is how her standard reads on Friday’s runway at the Bureau’s LA Fashion Week.
The checklist
What we leave out: Ford’s height, weight and figure rules. They are documented and drew decades of criticism, and we don’t apply them to anyone.
None of these will do. I want to look at all entrants.
Eileen Ford, Helsinki, 1961, per The Times
Emily
Emily Sophie Christine (@emilysophiechristine) walked for Sewreffic (@sewreffic) in Friday’s 6 p.m. show, “The Opening.” She is the model in our photographs from that show, in a black top and a gold-and-navy dot-print maxi skirt under the runway lights. Emily’s team placed second in our Day 1 coverage ranking. That is our editorial view, not a Bureau result.
The rest of the runway
Our model-first ranking has our model of the night. Beyond that, the Bureau hasn’t published a model list, and we won’t guess names from photos.
Ford held herself to a similar rule. Judging a magazine beauty contest in Helsinki in 1961, she was handed the editors’ top 20 and refused them: “None of these will do. I want to look at all entrants,” she said, according to the Times. She went through more than 700 photos. If you walked Friday’s 6 p.m. show, send us your name and we’ll add you.
Why a Ford lens now
Ford’s standard had two halves. One was an eye for presence that still holds up. The other was a body ideal the industry is still arguing about. A 2017 Model Alliance study found 62% of models had been told to lose weight by their agency or an industry professional, The New Republic reported. We keep the first half and leave out the second.
Photography: Anthony Perlas / Nightlife Report. Event: The Bureau Fashion Week Los Angeles. Rankings are Nightlife Report’s editorial opinion, not official results.
