Ever wondered how the modelling faces of the future are discovered? Grazia Daily certainly has, so we sent blogger Daniela Morosini of Couture & Crumpets to The Clothes Show in Birmingham to meet the team behind top model agency Select. Read on to find out how the Rosie Huntington-Whiteleys, Kate Mosses and Naomi Campbells of the world are scouted for catwalk glory…
Ah, the fickle world of fashion. Sometimes, the most chic careers have unglamorous beginnings. “You’re just going round all day, constantly looking” says Susannah Hooker, head of new faces at Select. “I’ve even scouted girls in the toilet queue before”. An afternoon with Select’s New Faces team certainly was a learning curve for me - in a room bigger than most aircraft hangers, jam-packed with pretty young things, you’d be forgiven for thinking that a model scout might be a little taken aback when trying to spot the next Cara Delevigne. So what did Team Select have to teach me?
Model scouts are determined…
“You can’t just let up,” continues Susannah “there might be someone brilliant just round the corner.” Team Select are constantly on the lookout for next big names in fashion, and with modelling heavyweights like Erin O’Connor being former Clothes Show finds, there’s no time to waste. An eagle-eyed team from Select wander the exhibition, looking for that special something - “Of course, a lot of the girls here are a bit younger, so it’s having that insight to see where their looks will go”, explains Susannah. “We’re not trying to find trends - we’re innovating.”
It doesn’t matter what you’re wearing…
Select have been at the forefront of the modelling world for years, and developed the scouting process which is now used to spot gorgeous girls worldwide. The Clothes Show is teeming with trendy teens, and Susannah admits, “We have sometimes scouted girls because the way they look and their whole vibe is so amazing...but we scout girls in their school uniforms too. We have to see through that totally.” The team have certainly got a well-trained eye; Select have some of the most recognisable runway and editorial girls on their books.
Everything is in the timing
With so many girls attending the show hoping to get noticed by Team Select, how do they ever sort through so many hopefuls? “Sometimes I’ve not scouted someone one year, but then the next year, they were ready” With Select girls like Charlotte Wiggins and Sam Rollinson closing big-name shows like Burberry and Balenciaga, it’s clear that where Select goes, trends will follow.
Grazia will definitely be putting on an extra slick of mascara and wandering up to Birmingham next year. Who knows!
By Daniela Morosini
Via: What We Learnt From The Select Model Scouts At The Clothes Show 2012
