Daily Parent Acquires Art + Commerce

(NEW YORK) IMG today announced that it has acquired Art + Commerce, the leading management agency boasting a who's who client roster of photographers, stylists, creative directors, and hair and make-up artists. Based in New York, Art + Commerce will continue to operate under the Art + Commerce name and will remain under the leadership of its three founding principals, Anne Kennedy, Jim Moffat, and Leslie Sweeney. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

IMG's fashion division is the global leader in the management and production of fashion weeks and designer fashion events. The division owns and operates many of the world's most important fashion events, including Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week (New York), Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios (Los Angeles), Fashion Fringe (London), Rosemount Australia Fashion Weeks (Sydney and Melbourne), The Singapore Fashion Festival and Lakme Fashion Week (Mumbai, India). IMG Fashion also publishes The Daily group of publications, which includes The Daily Front Row, the bi-monthly The Daily Mini, and www.fashionweekdaily.com.

Also part of the IMG Fashion network is IMG Models, the world's number one international model management firm, with offices in New York, Paris, London, Milan, and Singapore. The agency represents many of the industry's top names, including Gisele Bündchen, Heidi Klum, Kate Moss, Carolyn Murphy, and Daria Werbowy. 

"The addition of Art + Commerce to IMG Fashion represents a significant step in our strategy to expand our fashion businesses into different arenas," said Chuck Bennett, senior corporate vice president of IMG. "Art + Commerce brings the most notable image makers which perfectly compliments our activities throughout the world." Kennedy added, "We are so pleased to be a part of IMG and look forward to working closely with them to enhance and expand our artists' opportunities throughout the world across IMG's many global platform."

Since its founding in the 1980s, Art + Commerce has represented many of the most important photographers, stylists, creative directors, and hair and make-up artists. The company offers support and development for each artist's career, including exhibition, publication, and educational projects. Their current roster includes such stylists as Anne Christensen, Brana Wolf, Lori Goldstein, and Camilla Nickerson; make-up artists Gucci Westman, James Kaliardos, and Tom Pecheux; hairstylists Guido and Orlando Pita; creative director Ronnie Cooke Newhouse, and photographers Craig McDean, Steven Meisel, Steven Klein, Carter Smith, and Inez van Lamsweerde, and Vinoodh Matadin.