W
hen a New York-
based model and
talent management
agency asked Sammy Pandolfi
if he was interested in mod-
eling after seeing the videos
he posted on the social media
platform TikTok, his first
thought was, “this is a scam.
”
Pandolfi, an 18-year-old
Berkley resident, researched
the agency and then called the
New York phone number. It
turned out that the message
from Soul Artist Management
was legitimate. Due to COVID-
imposed travel restrictions, the
agency turned to social media
as a scouting platform instead
of going to Europe.
“They were interested in
talking to me, and my feelings
went from skepticism to pure
excitement,” says Pandolfi, who
signed a contract with the com-
pany at the end of January.
In March, he traveled to
New York to personally meet
his new agents and have his
first professional photoshoot.
The pictures were for an online
portfolio, which is being used
to promote Pandolfi to mag-
azines, designers and others
looking for models.
“He has an incredible face,
”
said Sarah Hamilton-Bailey,
Soul Artist Management agen-
cy director. “He’s also a perfect
size. Our clients are responding
extremely well to him. We’ve
had major, major brands
inquiring about him. He con-
firmed the YSL (Saint Laurent)
show which is really unheard of
with a brand new face.
“Now we have a lot of edi-
torial magazines from all over
the world that are shooting in
America asking for him as well.
He’s got the attention of fashion
stylists, art directors, designers.
”
In the few months since
his March trip to New York,
Pandolfi has already been in
Vogue, had castings — audi-
tions — with some major
designers and traveled to
Europe twice.
One of those trips was to
the South of France, where he
spent a mere 41 hours before
returning home because he did
not get the modeling job.
“He handled it all with
incredible grace,
” said his mom,
Stephanie Pandolfi, about his
two-day trip to France. “When
I asked him if he was OK, he
told me, ‘I had a great expe-
rience. I learned what these
castings are all about, I met
some great people, and I got
to come home to my beautiful
girlfriend.
’”
The second trip was more
successful. Pandolfi was
selected to appear in the Saint
Laurent Spring Summer 2022
menswear collection runway
show in Venice, Italy.
The iconic fashion company
flew him to Paris to make sure
he was a good choice for the
show. There, he met Anthony
Vaccarello, YSL’s creative direc-
tor, who liked his look, and
Pandolfi got the job. He was
one of 54 models in the show.
From Paris, Pandolfi flew to
Venice, filling nine days with
photoshoots, sightseeing and,
of course, walking the runway
sporting some very expensive
designer clothing.
Pandolfi, who had no prior
modeling or acting experience,
is more of an exception than
the rule.
“We have new faces that
come in, and we test them, and
sometimes it doesn’t work out,
”
said Hamilton-Bailey. “Sammy
has a face that the camera
absolutely loves. He’s kind of a
natural.
”
OTHER PURSUITS
Pandolfi graduated in 2020
from an online school and
decided to take a gap year
before college. He was sup-
posed to backpack around
Europe, but COVID put a
halt to those plans. Instead,
he found ways to earn money,
played video games and spent
time at a skate park. He still
plans to continue his education,
but he will pursue expanding
his modeling career for now.
Aside from being a natural
in front of the camera, he
also has a talent for playing
Local teen enjoys unplanned
modeling career.
“SAMMY HAS A FACE THAT THE CAMERA
ABSOLUTELY LOVES. HE’S KIND OF A NATURAL.”
— SAMMY’S TALENT AGENT, SARAH HAMILTON-BAILEY
22 | AUGUST 12 • 2021
In
Vogue
OUR COMMUNITY
JENNIFER LOVY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Sammy
Pandolfi
MARK ARROYO