TREND REPORT One day she couldn’t care less about fashion. Four weeks later she’s on the cover of Vogue. In today’s fast-paced fashion world, a small-town girl can go from nowhere to everywhere in just one short season. Freja. Arizona. Hanne. Lindsey. Karlie. Cara. You probably know who we’re talking about. Their surnames are Erichsen, Muse, Wixson, Kloss, Dunn and Delevingne. And they are some of today’s most popular models. The girls on whom fashion people get girl crushes, the ones they recognize instantly, and whose street style snaps are on Pinterest boards. These are the names that have leapt from the new faces board at their agency to the top of the industry’s must-use list. Simply put, these girls all have that indefinable It – the magic that draws you in and makes them stand out in a line-up of dozens. “I speak for most agents when I say this: you know straight away,” says Premier Model Management’s Annie Wilshaw. “One beautiful Polaroid of a girl, and people get hooked. The hype comes from those raw digital pics at the very beginning, where the girl looks fresh-faced, with no make-up.” THE INTANGIBLE EXTRA A girl has to have more than just the physical requisites, however. She must also have strength of character and intelligence. Surprised? Photographer and SHOWstudio founder Nick Knight explains. “When you’re creating a fashion image, the story and narrative lie within the clothes. A model is like the lead actress in a film: she understands what a piece of clothing makes her look like and projects that. “When you’re putting someone on the cover, they can’t just be the girl of the moment,” says Style’s editor-in-chief Dirk Standen, “they have to have that intangible extra something.” On the cover of the third issue of Style/Print magazine was Cara Delevingne. “With Cara, she’s an actress, as well as a model; she has a major presence on Twitter; and she likes to mug for the street style cameras. All those things can boost a girl’s profile, but it still comes back to that indefinable element. In Cara’s case, it’s an untamed, rebellious quality. You can teach a model to walk a runway but you can’t teach that.” DOING THE SHOWS So, you’ve been discovered or thought “why not?” and walked into an agency, who then proceed to sign you up as a new face because you have “It.” Then what? “Shows are how everyone starts off,” says Wilshaw. “The September shows are when all the fresh faces start in New York. It’s like a new school term. The more shows a new model amasses in a season, the better. And opening a show is like a badge of honor. For casting agent Natalie Joos, it’s standard psychology: “Opening and closing are coveted spots. Whatever comes first or last is what people remember easiest.” Some shows are more instrumental in establishing a model’s career. The real game changers are Prada, Balenciaga and Givenchy. “Certain designers pride themselves on being the first to use a new girl, and casting directors search every modeling agency around the world for that face,” says Natalie Hand, director of Viva Model Management. THE RIGHT MOMENT But what really catapults a newbie into superstardom? Timing. Think of it as a “lightbulb” moment, both for the model and the industry. Nick Knight explains: “A girl falls into fashion because she’s attractive, and the first six months are great fun, but then it gets tedious and she might find herself bored, tired and surrounded by morons! Everything clicks into place.” So it turns out that it’s not always about “Have you seen this new model?” but “Have you seen so-and-so lately, she’s really got it!” Saskia de Brauw is a great example. Now 32 years old, she dabbled in modeling when she was 19 for six months, but it wasn’t her time, says Natalie Hand. “Then, two years ago she opened and closed Balenciaga’s S/S 2011 show and everyone went crazy for her. Timing, intelligence, hard work and, of course, a sprinkling of that special something. The route to stardom can be short. But it takes more than a pretty face to be the face of the zeitgeist.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Jun 2013 22:10:01 +0000