Interview with Julian Vogel

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For Issue #006 of AMBITION, we had the pleasure of speaking with PR industry titan, Julian Vogel. We learn how his work has afforded him many different careers within one, the consistent traits of the successful leaders he's worked with, and why nurturing relationships is key for long term success.

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Where does your ambition come from?

Such a strange word ambition – I looked up the definition. A strong desire to do or achieve something. Desire or determination to achieve success. I’m an identical twin. There has always been a strong sense of friendly competition. When we were growing up we always played games and we're both not very good at losing. We have that sense of wanting to do well, to prove something.

I think I’m also ambitious for the people around me, I want to help them as well, to reach their potential.  Whether that’s clients or members of the team.  I’ve always wanted to help them reach success. Sometimes I think it’s because I’m a very stubborn Taurean.


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Your father was an advertising agency director and your mother an art director. Do you think you were destined to end up in the position you are today?

It’s funny because when you put it like that it seems so obvious, but when I left university, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I had studied business and marketing with a year’s work experience at Esso petroleum, working in what would now be a marketing call centre for the petrol stations – being office support for the sales team.


At the time, my brother had a friend whose girlfriend worked at a PR agency – I had no idea what that was, but they asked if I would help backstage at some fashion shows. It was 1987 – I was 21, and found myself with Naomi Campbell, Yasmin Lebon, Kate Moss and all the other now legendary models. I loved the buzz and excitement and I had suddenly found my world. Everything seemed to come together – the holidays working in my dad’s shops were the perfect training for understanding retail.  Media training - we always had all the magazines and newspapers at home, I’d grown up reading the weekend supplements. Food & travel – as kids we had been lucky enough to travel and my father is a complete foodie so we were taken to all the new restaurants in London. My mother had the most incredible eye when it came to images and content – that had been imparted to us from a young age.


There were so many sliding door moments where I could have gone down a different path.  But I feel lucky to be in an industry that has allowed me to explore so many careers. I’ve developed brands, been a photographer, a model, produced a movie, designed collections, as well as working with some of the best known brands and personalities.


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You’ve worked with some of the most incredible founders and business leaders in your roster of clients.  What traits or learnings have you picked up from your clients that you try to emulate?

I’ve been so lucky – from Vidal Sassoon to Richard Branson, Tom Ford to Terence Conran, to working with young designers like Erdem, to brand founders like Michael Gordon who started Bumble & Bumble, to Calvin Klein and Katharine Hamnett.

They all are very passionate and care about what they do.  All share that level of attention to detail, sometimes with a single mindedness verging on obsession. They have all stuck to their guns. Things don’t happen over night, and they all worked hard.

They all have huge integrity and intuition. If something doesn’t feel right, don’t be afraid to change it. Work with good people, train and develop talent. I’m so proud of all the people that have come through our doors at Modus – I feel like we have populated the industry.

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As a leader in a competitive industry, how do you differentiate yourself and your business?

So funny, I was asked this by an American potential client last week. I explained that us Brits are really terrible about talking about ourselves. I’m completely comfortable talking about my clients. It’s now been over 30 years at Modus – I think the secret is to keep evolving and changing, offering clients a combination of what they need and what they don’t know they need yet.
Always have the best people around you and work with clients that you love and admire and know you can work together with to add value. We have very long standing relationships with clients and media and are constantly nurturing those relationships. When somebody leaves, we keep supporting them. You never know where someone will end up next.

Those assistants that I worked with back in the day are now editors or MD’s. I’m also lucky to have the best team and inspiring business partners in New York, Vanessa von Bismarck, and Carrie Philips, and in Los Angeles, Ali Taekman. Each office has an owner operator which makes a huge difference in terms of knowledge and responsibility.

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You started your career at the height of fashion PR and remain at the heart of the industry after 3 decades. How do you and your team ensure you stay ahead of the curve as the industry evolves and advances?

When I started, nobody knew what fashion PR was, then Ab Fab came along and everyone thought they knew what it was and it still wasn’t that. We have evolved and adapted over the years. Everyone uses the word pivot now, but to us it was a natural progression. Firstly, the categories of clients we represented: fashion to beauty, beauty to wellness, then design and home, hospitality and travel, wines and spirits.

Then the services: press relations, fashion shows, shop openings, events, guest list management, celebrities and talent, brand partnerships, brand strategy, digital marketing, influencers, content creation. For me it’s the reason why I’ve stayed in the business for so long – constantly evolving and still learning.

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Today, the average client-agency tenure is thought to be less than three years, yet Calvin Klein has been your client for 28 years. What’s your secret?

Very long contract terms

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What has inspired you recently and had a positive impact on your life?

Lockdown – it has been an incredible gift in some ways.  The moment to take a pause and relook at things. To not be on a succession of international flights. To be home rediscovering the things that you love – to have time.

Don’t get me wrong, I have missed seeing friends and family, travelling and seeing and sampling all the wonderful things. But I’ve also had a chance to reconnect with myself and be clearer about what I want.

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What's the single best piece of advice you ever received?

Treat people as you would like to be treated yourself

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What’s been the greatest risk you’ve ever taken?

Becoming a partner in Modus at  22.

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If you had a microphone and the whole world was listening, what would you say?

Be kind to one another


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Where will Julian Vogel’s ambition take him next?

I’m a big believer in setting annual goals. Both personal and professional. A list that you can refer to and help keep you on track.

One of my focuses this year is the sustainability and impact division at ModusBPCM. My ambition is to build this practice into a world leader, having a positive impact on our lives and the planet. We just hired Francois Souchet from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and are building an incredible team. We want to help brands identify their sustainability goals and help them with a strategy, roadmap and how to communicate it. To implement change.


The other focus is the company I started over lockdown. Maison Margaux - a rental and retail company with everything for the table. We have now started producing our own products and are just about to deliver our first order to Browns. We are collaborating with some of our creative industry friends like Gucci Westman and Savannah Miller.