Life & Work with Qiman Tsai

Today we’d like to introduce you to Qiman Tsai.

Hi Qiman, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started my career as a model in Taiwan, and that journey eventually took me to Shanghai and Europe. In those early years, I was figuring out much of the industry on my own — approaching agencies, navigating unfamiliar markets, and trying to understand where I belonged.
That experience shaped the way I see the fashion industry today. I learned that having potential and working hard are only part of the journey. Knowing which market suits you, how to prepare for it, how to position yourself, and who to trust can make an enormous difference. I also came to understand how valuable it is to have someone who sees your long-term potential and helps you make thoughtful decisions along the way.
After spending more than 13 years working internationally, I also began to see a wider gap in the industry. There were many talented Asian models who wanted to enter international markets but didn’t necessarily understand how those markets worked, while agencies and clients in Europe often had limited access to Asian talent who had been properly prepared and positioned for them.
Q CASTING grew out of both of those experiences. I wanted to build the kind of mother agency I had needed when I was younger, while also creating a bridge between Asian talent and the international fashion industry. For me, it was never simply about sending models abroad. It was about understanding where each person fits, which markets and agencies make sense for them, how they should be developed and positioned, and how to build a career with a longer-term perspective.
Since then, my work has expanded beyond model management into model development, training, casting and show direction, bringing together what I have learned both in front of the camera and behind the scenes. Q CASTING has also grown into an international network, connecting talent with agencies and opportunities across Europe, Asia and other major fashion markets.
I’m still building and learning, but the purpose remains the same: to help Asian talent understand the international industry, make better-informed decisions, and build careers that can genuinely grow beyond their home market.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, and some of the biggest challenges are actually ones I’m still dealing with today.
One of the first things I had to learn was how different the industry looks depending on which side of it you are standing on. As a model, there were times when I didn’t understand why certain decisions were being made, why one market worked while another didn’t, or why opportunities sometimes disappeared without explanation.
Becoming an agent and eventually a founder changed my perspective completely. I began to understand how many factors sit behind every opportunity — timing, market positioning, relationships with agencies and clients, visas, contracts, finances, and sometimes circumstances that have very little to do with whether a model is talented or hardworking.
Building Q CASTING brought another challenge: there was no existing blueprint for exactly what I wanted to build. We were developing Asian talent across countries, cultures and very different fashion markets, so I had to build relationships from the ground up while learning how different systems and expectations could work together.
One of my biggest challenges today has come from expanding our work into China.
Many of our Chinese models originally came to Q CASTING specifically for international development. In China, some had already become accustomed to working much more independently — taking local opportunities themselves and having a high degree of freedom over how they managed their careers.
As we began building a stronger presence in China, I realised that creating a truly international career required us to connect their domestic and international development rather than treating them as two completely separate worlds. But that also meant asking models to work with us differently in their home market: to communicate more consistently, coordinate opportunities with the agency, and think about individual jobs as part of a longer-term career strategy.
That transition has not always been easy. Some models naturally resist giving up a level of independence they previously had, especially when they originally joined us for what we could offer internationally rather than for representation in China.
This has honestly been one of my biggest frustrations as a founder. Sometimes you can see what you believe is a missing piece in someone’s career, build the structure to address it, and then discover that the person you are building it for may not immediately see the same value — or may not be ready to work within that structure.
It has forced me to understand that being a mother agency isn’t simply about finding opportunities. It is also about building trust and creating enough alignment between the agency and the model that both sides understand what kind of career they are trying to build together.
And that has probably been one of my most important lessons: you can create opportunities, provide strategy and build infrastructure, but you cannot build someone’s career without their participation.
I’m still learning how to balance those things — giving models enough independence to develop as individuals, while creating enough structure to manage their careers professionally across different markets.
I think the difficult parts have shaped Q CASTING as much as the successes have. They have taught me that building an international career is not simply about talent or access. It also requires trust, communication, shared direction, and the willingness of both the agency and the model to keep adapting as the career develops.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Q CASTING is a Milan-born mother agency focused exclusively on Asian models and their development in the international fashion market.
Our work goes far beyond traditional model management. We look at each model individually — their look, personality, movement, strengths, experience and long-term potential — and think carefully about where they belong in the global market. From development and portfolio building to international placement, contract negotiation and career strategy, we work closely with our models throughout the different stages of their careers.
Because I spent more than 13 years working internationally as a model myself, I understand the industry from the talent’s perspective. At the same time, my work today as an agent, casting director and show director allows me to see what happens on the other side: what agencies, casting directors and clients are actually looking for, and why being a good model is about much more than having the right face or measurements.
This is also why model development has become such an important part of what we do. We work on what I call Body Intelligence, Presence and Global Navigation — how a model understands and uses their body, how they communicate presence beyond simply posing, and how they learn to operate professionally across different cultures and markets.
What sets Q CASTING apart is that we don’t see “international” as simply sending a model overseas. A model can be physically present in Paris or Milan and still not understand how to work internationally. For us, international development means understanding how different markets operate, how to communicate and work with different teams, how to adapt without losing your individuality, and how to make career decisions with a longer-term perspective.
I’m especially proud when a model who started with very little international experience begins to build a real career across markets — signing with respected agencies, working with international clients, appearing in major publications or campaigns, and, most importantly, becoming someone who understands their own value and can navigate the industry with much greater confidence and independence.
Over the years, we have built relationships with agencies and industry professionals across Milan, Paris, London, New York and other international markets. But what I’m most proud of isn’t simply the size of the network or a list of recognizable names. It’s seeing that the bridge we set out to build actually works.
Q CASTING was born in Milan, but it was built for the international market. And I think what defines us most is our ability to understand Asian talent from where they begin, while also understanding the international standard they need to reach — and helping them navigate the distance between the two.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I wouldn’t describe myself as someone who takes risks simply because I enjoy taking them. I actually think about risk very carefully. I want to understand what I could lose, what I can control, and whether the reason for taking that risk is strong enough to justify the possible consequences.
Starting Q CASTING in Milan was probably the first major business risk I took. I was building a mother agency focused exclusively on Asian models and their international careers, in a market where there wasn’t an established model for exactly what I wanted to do. There was no blueprint to follow and no guarantee that agencies, clients or models would believe in the concept.
The second — and probably even greater — risk came later, when I decided to expand back into China.
As Q CASTING grew, I realised that many of our Chinese models were developing internationally but had very little structured career development in their own home market. I believed this was a missing piece. As Chinese models, building visibility and recognition in China could strengthen their overall career and, in turn, support their positioning internationally.
But entering China meant competing directly with established local agencies that had been operating in the market far longer than we had. And the risk wasn’t limited to whether the China business itself would succeed.
If we failed to prove that we could also create value for our models in China, I risked losing some of the very models who had originally trusted me to manage their international careers.
That made the decision much more serious. I wasn’t simply investing in a new market with the possibility of losing money. I was potentially putting part of the business I had already built at risk in order to solve what I believed was an important weakness in our long-term model.
I still decided to do it because I believed that if Q CASTING wanted to become a truly international mother agency, we couldn’t only be strong at sending Asian models outward. We also needed to understand how to build value for them in their home market and connect the two sides of their careers.
That experience probably explains my view on risk better than anything else. I don’t believe in taking risks blindly, and I don’t think courage means assuming everything will work out.
For me, taking a meaningful risk means understanding exactly what you could lose, understanding why you are doing it anyway, and deciding that what you are trying to build is important enough to justify that possibility.

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