Nina Klein Artist Management celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.
For 25 years, Nina Klein and her team have successfully managed and connected stylists and hair & makeup artists for high-profile photo productions in the fashion and beauty industry. With a new unit, Content Creation, they are expanding their artists' expertise for content productions focusing on street styles, OOTD, GRWM, tutorials, and master classes in various fields.
For over 10 years, Nina Klein has also worked as business coach, advising creatives, entrepreneurs, and leaders in the creative business. She is the author of a coaching book, “Awareness is Fire,” which provides readers with 20 essences in the form of a comic aimed at rekindling their inner fire.
Her triad of success:Always finding the right balance between continuity, creativity, and development, thus living transformation as a general attitude.
FASHION COUNCIL GERMANY spoke with Nina about her agency, her secrets to success, and the importance of styling and expertise for brands:
You are celebrating your 25th anniversary this year. How do you maintain constant renewal in your business model and remain successful and innovative without losing your identity?
Nina: For me, the values of creativity and development are paramount. Especially in the fashion industry, it is crucial to constantly question what has been done and have the willingness for continual renewal. However, one’s signature should always run like a red thread through all stages of development. For service providers or artists, the key points of brand building are just as essential as they are for fashion and beauty brands.
What have been your most important milestones over the past 25 years?
Nina: Over the past 25 years, I have established a new location or developed a new business area every five years. The constant starting from scratch has always kept me away from routine and tunnel vision, enabling additional breakthroughs in the industry. So, each phase of renewal has been a milestone in itself.
In recent years, you have founded two new units, CREATIVE LAB and CONTENT CREATION, and successfully implemented them in the market. How has this changed your business?
Nina: With Content Creation, we can wonderfully bridge the gap to consumers through the expertise of stylists and makeup artists. The focus of content productions is intended for social media. For beauty brands, tutorials and expert tips in the Instagram feed have become indispensable. For fashion brands, our stylists can apply their expertise in producing editorial content and, of course, in the popular street styles/OOTD/GRWM formats. Unlike campaigns and lookbook shootings, we design content creation productions for the different applications of consumers. Our experts sometimes appear in front of the camera themselves; otherwise, they act as creative directors. The concepts are either developed from within the team or we bring in suitable creative directors who develop editorial plans and implement the production.
At Nina Klein, you strive for a holistic styling concept, including consulting. How important is it for brands to trust your expertise beyond styling services?
Nina: Our artists are increasingly involved as consultants and creative directors at various stages. They advise from product development/collection development to look and visual language development. However, compared to the international market, this is still too rare.
What tips do you have for young talents and newcomers to the industry? Where is the best place to start?
Nina: At the beginning, the phase of assistance should not be underestimated. From my experience, this phase could be longer, but compared to international productions, this position is undervalued in the German market and is unfortunately also poorly compensated. Stylists often start their own jobs too early with corresponding expectations and often cannot sustain this long enough until they reach the appropriate level of their visual language and network. Working with an agency that guides you through the startup phase can certainly accelerate the process and is often significant for the subsequent steps as a freelance stylist and makeup artist.
What is Collective Mindset?
Nina: For example, since 2023, I have been an ambassador for the Foundation Sheltersuit from the Netherlands, which is committed to helping the homeless worldwide. We support them with profits from our shop and the sale of my book. Under the unit Collective Mindset, I will be implementing further projects with our inner circle and network in the future—stay tuned!
For 25 years, Nina Klein and her team have successfully managed and connected stylists and hair & makeup artists for high-profile photo productions in the fashion and beauty industry. With a new unit, Content Creation, they are expanding their artists' expertise for content productions focusing on street styles, OOTD, GRWM, tutorials, and master classes in various fields.
For over 10 years, Nina Klein has also worked as business coach, advising creatives, entrepreneurs, and leaders in the creative business. She is the author of a coaching book, “Awareness is Fire,” which provides readers with 20 essences in the form of a comic aimed at rekindling their inner fire.
Her triad of success:Always finding the right balance between continuity, creativity, and development, thus living transformation as a general attitude.
FASHION COUNCIL GERMANY spoke with Nina about her agency, her secrets to success, and the importance of styling and expertise for brands:
You are celebrating your 25th anniversary this year. How do you maintain constant renewal in your business model and remain successful and innovative without losing your identity?
Nina: For me, the values of creativity and development are paramount. Especially in the fashion industry, it is crucial to constantly question what has been done and have the willingness for continual renewal. However, one’s signature should always run like a red thread through all stages of development. For service providers or artists, the key points of brand building are just as essential as they are for fashion and beauty brands.
What have been your most important milestones over the past 25 years?
Nina: Over the past 25 years, I have established a new location or developed a new business area every five years. The constant starting from scratch has always kept me away from routine and tunnel vision, enabling additional breakthroughs in the industry. So, each phase of renewal has been a milestone in itself.
In recent years, you have founded two new units, CREATIVE LAB and CONTENT CREATION, and successfully implemented them in the market. How has this changed your business?
Nina: With Content Creation, we can wonderfully bridge the gap to consumers through the expertise of stylists and makeup artists. The focus of content productions is intended for social media. For beauty brands, tutorials and expert tips in the Instagram feed have become indispensable. For fashion brands, our stylists can apply their expertise in producing editorial content and, of course, in the popular street styles/OOTD/GRWM formats. Unlike campaigns and lookbook shootings, we design content creation productions for the different applications of consumers. Our experts sometimes appear in front of the camera themselves; otherwise, they act as creative directors. The concepts are either developed from within the team or we bring in suitable creative directors who develop editorial plans and implement the production.
At Nina Klein, you strive for a holistic styling concept, including consulting. How important is it for brands to trust your expertise beyond styling services?
Nina: Our artists are increasingly involved as consultants and creative directors at various stages. They advise from product development/collection development to look and visual language development. However, compared to the international market, this is still too rare.
What tips do you have for young talents and newcomers to the industry? Where is the best place to start?
Nina: At the beginning, the phase of assistance should not be underestimated. From my experience, this phase could be longer, but compared to international productions, this position is undervalued in the German market and is unfortunately also poorly compensated. Stylists often start their own jobs too early with corresponding expectations and often cannot sustain this long enough until they reach the appropriate level of their visual language and network. Working with an agency that guides you through the startup phase can certainly accelerate the process and is often significant for the subsequent steps as a freelance stylist and makeup artist.
What is Collective Mindset?
Nina: For example, since 2023, I have been an ambassador for the Foundation Sheltersuit from the Netherlands, which is committed to helping the homeless worldwide. We support them with profits from our shop and the sale of my book. Under the unit Collective Mindset, I will be implementing further projects with our inner circle and network in the future—stay tuned!
