Click through to get all the dirt on what goes on at a casting table, including why we think it might be a while before underage models are completely filtered out of runway shows, plus tons of photos!
For one, the rare opportunity to hear models actually say things was exciting enough. Here’s how a typical interaction between Weir and one of the hopeful beauties would go:
Weir: Hi baby, how are you!
Model: I’m good how are you?
Weir: Good, where are you from?
Model: Slovakia/Russia/Sudan/Australia/New Jersey
Weir: And how old are you?
Model: 17
Weir: Ok, take a walk
Model: [walks down makeshift carpeted runway]
Weir: Gorgeous! Thank you! Next!
And then, he fills out one of these hilarious forms, which an assistant paper clips to each model card:
I realize it must be challenging to cast four shows at once and see all these girls. Andrew tells me they have creative meetings with each designer a week in advance, except for Rachel Zoe, who obviously lives in L.A. and just had a child. “We had a conference call with Rachel Zoe and she wants very specific type…Basically, we sit down look at the collection or what pieces of the collection have arrived because everything ships at the last minute and we go over the mood board and have a really in depth conversation about what they’re looking for so when we sit down here we can just circle which one.”
They do have to limit the amount of shows they cast each season–to avoid insanity. “To keep it straight, we also have a rule that we only take four shows per season. I think we turned down eight shows this season for mental health because it starts to go away after five shows.”
Despite possible mental health dissipation, Weir would sometimes strike up conversations with girls he remembered. He and his staff were particularly obsessed with one: Suzie Bird. “She’s the one girl that collectively all of my team is smitten with. We just heart her.” He remembered another girl because of a tattoo she had on her forearm from the book The Little Prince. Tattoos can either help or harm a model’s chances of getting booked–in this case, it helped a casting director remember her.
Clothes are also an interesting component to a model casting. “It would be a great idea for a trend forecaster to come into one of these events because what you see these girls wearing at these castings shows up two years later,” Weir observes while one of the many girls wearing leather short shorts strutted down the “runway.” However, the general public would probably opt for a more covered up version. Granted, it was pretty humid out, but these models were, for the most part, showing a lot of skin. “They’re told to show their legs–that’s why they all come in half naked. If you can’t see [their legs] there’s a reason why…”
Of course, beauty and walking seem to be the most important factors. The most common remarks he would give either quiet enough so that only those of us at the table could hear–or jotted down on a score card–were “gorgeous,” “pretty,” “so pretty,” “cute,” and, occasionally, “complexion needs work,” “too green,” and once, to a Sudanese beauty, “I dont even know what to do she’s so beautiful.”
Overall, though, the biggest deal-breaker for Weir is a wobble. “You’re not gonna do a show with us unless you can walk. You have to be the complete package. There are some amazing girls that are so beautiful but if they can’t walk, maybe next season. In my 10 years of experience, I find that if you do use a girl that’s a little wobbly, it just breaks the continuity and effects people in the audience.”
Of course, what we really wanted to know was his thoughts on an issue that has become a deal-breaker for some: underage models.
The underage model saga continues. Given the recent controversies regarding underage models, including one that involved CFDA president Diane Von Furstenberg discovering that one of her models, Hailey Clauson (yes, the same one involved in that Urban Outfitters lawsuit), was only 15 at the time of her runway show, the CFDA is introducing new measures to ensure the safety and legality of models in the fashion industry.
With three years now under its belt and an impressive lineup of local, national and international designers joining its ranks, we think it’s safe to say that Austin Fashion Week is quickly becoming a fashion week to watch. From the week’s unique show and presentation venues, to a slew of cleverly themed parties and designer meet-and-greets–not to mention the noteworthy talent showcased–there was no shortage of exciting, quirky and downright impressive sights to see during AFW. After a week of party hopping and show-going all over town, we’ve rounded up the top ten highlights from the capital city’s most fashionable events.