Ivan Bart, IMG Models President Who Pushed for Diversity, Has Died

Ivan Bart, the former president of IMG Models, has died at the age of 60, according to a post published to his Instagram account.

Over a decades-long career, Bart helped steer the careers of some of fashion’s most famous faces. Under his oversight, IMG represented models including Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Carolyn Murphy, Tyra Banks and Gigi and Bella Hadid.

Bart also pushed to make the modelling industry more inclusive, championing the careers of transgender models such as Hari Nef; plus-size models including Ashley Graham, Paloma Elsesser and Precious Lee; and older models including Maye Musk.

“Ivan believed in fashion, but he believed in people more. He understood that individuality was a kind of luxury — rarer than diamonds, more ornate than haute couture, and harder to cultivate than a sample-size physique,” said Nef in an email to BoF. “He changed my life, but — on the level of casting and imagery — he transformed the fashion industry. Ivan’s legacy is literally everywhere you look.”

Bart was born in 1963 and graduated from the State University of New York at Albany. He joined IMG from Ford models as an agent in 1994, after having worked at eight different modelling companies. He was named president of IMG Models in 2014, after it was acquired by Endeavor. Ford Models had just closed its plus-size division, and IMG quickly snapped up Ashley Graham and other plus-size models dropped by Ford.

Graham became the first plus-size model to appear on the covers of British and American Vogue in 2017. In a tribute posted to Instagram, the model described Bart as “one of the most integral parts” of her career.

“Your impact has moved mountains and broken down so many walls for myself and so many others,” Graham said.

Bart’s ability to build lasting careers for models or stage comebacks was unmatched, said casting director James Scully, citing Tyra Banks’ TV run and Stephanie Seymour’s return to the runway. He was always “of the moment” and anticipated where fashion was going — including, being one of the first people to recognise the how social media would change the industry, said Scully.

”He took the same tactics as someone would take with a sport star and turned the modelling business on its head,” said Scully. “He was truly a trailblazer in that arena.”

Bart would also lead Endeavor’s fashion-events segment, overseeing New York Fashion Week, Australia Fashion Week and Made Fashion Week, a platform for emerging designers Endeavor acquired in 2015.

“Ivan quite literally changed the shape and face of the modelling industry from within. His relentless pursuit for diversity and inclusion challenged fashion’s gatekeepers and created household names whose omnipresence has inspired generations,” said Mark Shapiro, Endeavor president and chief operating officer, in a statement.

Bart described his approach to his role at BoF Voices in 2016:

“This isn’t about finger pointing. It’s about all of us coming together as a community and realising that through diversity and through the imagery of fashion, we can create social change,” he said. “When that young person is sitting at home reading Vogue, Glamour, or whatever magazine, and they’re fantasising and they see themselves … there’s a sense of ‘I belong.’”

In 2021, after the inauguration of US president Joe Biden, Bart signed Ella Emhoff, the stepdaughter of vice president Kamala Harris who grabbed the media’s attention with her distinctive personal style and Miu Miu coat.

“It’s not really about shape, size or gender anymore. Ella communicates this moment in time,” said Bart to The New York Times at the time.

Bart stepped down from his position as president of IMG Models in March but remained a senior advisor at the agency until his death.

As news of Bart’s death spread, prominent figures in the modelling industry paid homage to the executive.

“You were such a positive force,” Naomi Campbell said in a comment on the post announcing Bart’s passing.

“Have a gentle rest — you beautiful tenacious groundbreaking soul,” wrote fellow model Paloma Elsesser.

“I will never forget your spirits and hugs, your support and fight for others,” said Gigi Hadid in a post on her own account.