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About the desk
Independent
by design.
The Cast Index is an independent editorial desk tracking faces, finishes, fashion-week casting, and emerging momentum.
No model, agency, or brand owns a position on this index. Every rank — and every season finish — is earned through verifiable work, scored or curated in public, and labelled with the strength of its evidence.
01 / The desk
Who runs this.
The Cast Index is an independent editorial desk, founded and edited by Kaiser Khan. It is not owned by, affiliated with, or funded by any modelling agency, fashion house, or media group.
The desk reviews runway records, campaign announcements, editorial placements and cultural signals from public, citable sources, then scores them against the published methodology. Every ranked profile shows its evidence, its sources and its confidence state, so readers can check the work rather than take it on trust. Kaiser is the named human responsible for scores, finishes and corrections.
02 / The mission
Evidence before opinion.
Fashion runs on reputation. Our job is to make that reputation inspectable: who is actually working, which finishes are defining the season, and how recently the evidence landed.
The Cast Index measures current professional influence — not character or human worth. Model rankings use the same four pillars, point values and decay rules everywhere. The Season Beauty Index ranks finishes by cultural travel from runway to image, always tied to fashion-week context.
03 / Independence
A ranking you can’t buy.
A ranking is only useful if nobody can purchase a place on it. Ours is structurally separated from every revenue line the desk operates.
- No model, agency, or brand can pay to enter, rise, or appear on the index or the Rising board.
- Scores are recalculated every Monday at 06:00 UTC from dated evidence, by formula — not negotiated.
- Formula changes ship as numbered versions on the public changelog; scores are never retroactively rewritten without a changelog entry.
- Corrections from anyone — subjects included — go to the desk and are applied at the next recalculation.
04 / Funding
How the desk pays its bills.
Four revenue lines keep the lights on. Every one of them sits behind an editorial firewall: none can buy, move, or soften a ranking.
Paid directory listings
Agencies, creatives and brands can pay for a verified directory listing. A listing never touches the editorial index.
Cast Index Pro subscriptions
Industry professionals pay for data, exports and casting tools built around the index — never for influence over it.
Event listings
Organisers can list fashion and beauty events in the events directory. Listings are clearly separated from editorial coverage.
05 / Giving
Ten percent of profits.
The Cast Index donates 10% of profits to World Animal Rescue Network (WARN), funding partner-led animal rescue across 17 countries.
That includes programmes such as CNVR for street dogs in Karachi — humane catch-neuter-vaccinate-return instead of culling — and work spotlighted when animals are stolen into the meat trade, including a Vietnam police rescue of roughly 400 stolen cats.
The pledge cannot buy, move or soften a ranking. It is separate from any personal donation you make on WARN’s site. Read the editor note on Kaiser Khan, or go to World Animal Rescue Network.
06 / Ownership
Who publishes this.
The Cast Index is owned and operated by Elite Digital AI Solutions Ltd, registered in England & Wales, Company No. 17250017.
Founder and editor: Kaiser Khan. Confirm the company on Companies House. The full biography and philanthropy record live on mrkaiserkhan.com.
07 / Contact & standards
Talk to the desk.
- Editor
- Kaiser Khan — founder & editor
- Editorial & corrections
- desk@thecastindex.com
- The formula
- Index Rating methodology and its public changelog.
- Sourcing standards
- Read the editorial & sourcing policy.