Last Updated on August 13, 2024
As an agent-producer working at the highest levels of the beauty and fashion industries, Malin Stenborg has collaborated with internationally well-known clients like H&M, Net a Porter, Sephora, Mac Cosmetics, Acne Studio, and Brioni.
She’s made herself one of the most sought-after agents around by proving on countless occasions that her unique and creative choice of creative talent and production teams can result in extremely positive and performant campaigns for her clients.
When we interviewed Stenborg a couple of weeks ago, we challenged her to not only define success but also elaborate on how others can achieve similar levels of success.
This also included a reflection on the roles that women tend to take on in these industries and whether gender equality is indeed on the rise.
IF: Thank you for being here. Let’s start things off with a big question. What does success mean to you?
Stenborg: I think success means living a happy healthy life! Success on a work front means that I am achieving the goals that I establish for myself, that I am doing the best I can to support the people I work with to be successful in what they do.
As an example, I achieve success and so do my talents when I secure a big job with a prestigious client that they have been wanting to work with for a long time. Furthermore, we
achieve even more success by making that relationship successful and making it possible for the talent and the client to grow and work together for a long time! It is so rewarding to have clients come back to me for new requests because I am “top of mind” for them when it comes to calling in talents for a new creative brief. They trust me and know I always deliver.
IF: Has there been a specific moment in your career that made you feel like you had “found your place” within your profession?
Stenborg: I have a memory of a job from my second year as an agent. My agency had a huge campaign, and I was the agent for the photographer and also producing, including the casting of the models. This was back in the ’80s when casting directors barely existed.
The model booked for the campaign dropped out last minute and I had to find a replacement within an hour, have both the advertising agency and client approve her, and book her flight. I called all the contacts I had around Europe and managed to fly in the top model at the time,
Cecilia Chancellor, instead of a lesser established model that the client first wanted.
It took a while to convince them they’d just gotten an amazing deal. But it did not take long for them to realize it, and after the shoot, the client personally thanked me for making the shoot such a success and more than they had asked for. That is when I knew I had found my place as an agent and producer.
IF: Do you feel that women continue to face challenges when it comes to rising to prominence in the advertising and beauty industries?
Stenborg: Yes, unfortunately. But I do think we are definitely moving in the right direction! However, we still have a long way to go, especially in the boardrooms and higher positions.
Beauty is one of the industries where I do think women are moving forwards and upwards faster, also because we are the buyers!
IF: Does someone in your position need to constantly be learning new things and refreshing their perspective?
Stenborg: YES! I think in all business you have to, especially today when everything moves so incredibly fast, in every sense of the word! I mean, I didn’t have internet when I first started working. I’m talking about the days of faxing contracts. Now we have NFTs and the Metaverse.
And when it comes to perspective, that is incredibly important in all different ways. This is why I always say travel is important. Live in another country or city, move, and see the world. That way, you learn so much about life and how to see things in different ways. And you also get so incredibly inspired!
IF: What are some of the key changes you have witnessed in fashion and advertising over the last twenty years?
Stenborg: When I started, you had a one-day advertising shoot and you shot a max of seven still images in a studio. If it was on location, it was around four or five images in total. You had to wait three days for the film to develop in the lab. Then there would be another day for the photographer to go through and make selections, and then for the contact sheets to be sent to the client for their approvals, and then back and then hand print the finals. And of course, the creative direction was only for stills, rarely any moving images.
Today, the number of deliverables is insane. There’s often a need for print and motion to be captured at the same time and shot for all formats. And it needs to be done fast because this is how the expectations have been set and what everyone has gotten used to. As a result, I think that the creative idea sometimes gets lost, not because it’s not there, just because there is not enough time to effectively execute it.
For clothing designers, there are now around ten collections a year, not four. I mean wow!
I guess I sometimes get nostalgic and miss the times when I was excited about what fashion designers did. For example, Alexander McQueen’s fashion shows would be so in your face and nothing else was there to distract you, and it was incredible!
I also remember the times you were anxiously waiting for the new print March issue of Vogue and getting annoyed if it was two days late. I do however also feel that creativity has moved forward in amazing ways! There are so many incredible things that I get inspired by.
IF: What do you find the most exciting about your work these days?
Stenborg: I still love putting together the ultimate dream team, i.e. putting together the photographer/cinematographer with the right client/agency and making magic together.
One of my newest ones is with Brioni which I am very proud of! That was a few years in the making, but it’s so exciting when you see the final product and everyone is happy.
And now we are working on our third campaign in a row with them. And it’s not just my own projects. I love seeing others’ projects, too. It’s very inspiring. Just look at Megaforce and Burberry. Very cool!
IF: Do you have any closing advice for women hoping to become producers or agents?
Stenborg: Do your research. And then do it again. Who does what? Who works with who? How do you think you can make them better?
That’s your job, to lift other people up and make them successful! And maybe lift women a little higher, not because we need it per se, but because society needs to see us in higher positions. Build relationships with clients and show them why they should trust you.
Always be nice to everyone! Because you never know where either of you will be tomorrow.
Take the high road. And when you need to be firm, do so in a kind and respectful way.
Of course, there are always exceptions to all of the above, but if you try to do these things, you’ll know you did your best.
