Baby Brandi

Seventeen year old Marina Nery from Bahia, Brazil looks set for a killer debut season at New York Fashion Week. Represented by Ford Model Management, the 179 cm statuesque beauty was spotted at castings for ACW Worldwide and COACD in the lead up to the shows. Nery clearly impressed casting directors and designers alike, with appearances so far in eleven NYFW shows including Ohne Titel, Sachin + Babi, Carlos Miele, Cushnie et Ochs, Ruffian, LAMB, Custo Barcelona, Rachel Zoe, Lela Rose, Candela and Nicole Miller. Nery's unruly, curly tresses and her  bambi-like green eyes, have drawn comparisons to nineties supermodel Brandi Quinones, who was the first woman of colour to feature in a Chanel ad campaign. Nery most recently appeared at Rio Fashion Week where she was one of the most coveted new faces, appearing in a total of 18 shows. With a few days left of NYFW, Nery has clearly emerged as one of the standout new faces of the F/W 2012 season.

In the Spotlight - Marina Nery
Photographer - Dag Bennstrom
Source - models.com

Cushnie et Ochs - F/W 2012
Photographer - Alessandro Garofalo

Ohne Titel - F/W 2012
Photographer - Marcus Tondo

Sachin + Babi - F/W 2012
Photographer - Gianni Pucci

Carlos Miele - F/W 2012
Photographer - Yannis Vlamos

Rachel Zoe - F/W 2012
Photographer - Filippo Fior

Ruffian - F/W 2012
Photographer - Alessandro Viero

Custo Barcelona - F/W 2012
Photographer - Yannis Vlamos

Nicole Miller - F/W 2012
Photographer - Marcus Tondo

Lela Rose - F/W 2012
Photographer - Yannis Vlamos
All runway images courtesy of style.com

Marina Nery
Courtesy of Munich Models

Photographer - Ryan Kalivretenos
Source - thefashionspot.com

Sitting Pretty
Photographer - Unknown
Source - fordmodels.com

Photographer - Ryan Kalivretenos
Source - thefashionspot.com

Casting Frenzy

With New York Fashion week kicking off today, a new generation of model hopefuls can be seen scuttling all over the city in a casting frenzy. With so many new faces emerging each season, designers rely on casting agencies and directors to do the legwork, honing in on the most promising new talent in search of the next big thing. Casting agency COACD led by director Douglas Perrett and his team, cast their eye over hundreds of models in the lead up to the New York collections and here is a round up of some of the freshest new faces on option for the coming Fall/Winter 2012 season. My bets are firmly hedged on Sissi Hou, Ashika Pratt, Victoria Lee, Alina Ilie and Appoline to make a strong impression in the days ahead. 

Sissi Hou - Shanghai
IMG Models

Appoline - Ukraine
IMG Models

Adriana Cernanova - Slovakia
Ford Models

Maria Palm - Denmark
Trump Model Management

Victoria Lee - Australia
Ford Models

Ashika Pratt - New Zealand
Ford Models

Cat - Russia
IMG Models

Eunice Rodriguez - Dominican Republic
Soul Artist Management

Inka - Germany
Fusion Model Management

Alina Ilie - Romania
IMG Models

Cailin Hill - Ontario
Ford Models

Volte Viktoravicuite
Major Model Management

Quirine Engel - Holland
DNA Models

Olivia Thornton - Australia
DNA Models
All images courtesy of COACD twitpic

Sitting Pretty

Casting and Management Company, Confessions of a Casting Director (COACD) is my ultimate resource for polaroid shots of modelling's newest talent. Based in New York, COACD's advertising client roster includes Levis, Uniqlo, Diesel, Adidas, Macy's and Neiman Marcus. A favourable impression on casting guru Douglas Perrett and his team at COACD, can land a model in the pages of Mixte, Dazed & Confused, Wonderland, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Interview and Love Magazine.

Emily Didonato

Karo Mrozkova

Karlina Caune

Maud Welzen

Calandra Stavroudis

Mackenzie Drazan

Estée

Julia Frauche

Josephine Skriver

Kelly Mittendorf

Maria Bradley

Ophelie Rupp

Daga Ziober
All images courtesy of COACD

Showstopper

Toronto native Kate King backed up her stellar Spring/Summer 2011 debut, amassing an incredulous 63 shows at the Spring/Summer 2012 collections. Listed by models.com and COACD as a Top Ten newcomer for the past F/W 2011 season, the auburn haired beauty snagged a Dolce Gabbana campaign in the process, alongside established stars Isabeli Fontana, Liu Wen, Constance Jablonski, Maryna Linchuk and Jac Jagaciak. Eighteen year old King recently switched representation from Elite to Ford Models and is being heralded as one of the most exciting prospects in recent times.

Backstage at Alexander Wang S/S 2012
Image courtesy of Interview Magazine
Source - thefashionspot.com

Championed by influential casting agent, Natalie Joos, who recollects in an interview with V Magazine, "When Kate King walked into my pre-casting for Fashion Week for FW11, my tireless attention shifted. She was this tall, mousy shy girl who reminded me of Ruby Aldridge. But she had a strong, rare kind of beauty, great hair and her walk was flawless." I couldn't agree more with Joos assessment of King. For me, King is a real standout and possesses an air mystery due in part to her olive skin tone, amber coloured eyes and angular bone structure. Looking at King, it's difficult to ascertain her heritage. It's this air of intrigue which makes her all the more alluring and memorable.

Mysterious Girl
Photographer - Craig Arend
Source - thefashionspot.com

Kate King
Photographer - Shirley Yu
Source - thefashionspot.com

In an interview with the Cut, King alludes to her mixed British and Guyanese lineage, when asked if there is anything about the fashion industry that she would change. "Being that I'm a medley of different races, I would love the runways to continue integrating different races and bodies." King is part of an eclectic group of second season girls who are stamping their mark on the fashion industry. Speaking with the Cut, King lists compatriots Sui He and Emily Baker as her tightest buddies, "Emily is so sweet...She's probably one of the girls I'm closest with. I also clicked with this Chinese model Sui He. She's 22, but she looks like a baby." One things for sure, King is certainly no cookie cutter beauty either and with her willowy 178 cm tall runway perfect proportions, is likely to be make an indelible impact in the years to come.

Alberta Ferretti - S/S 2012
Photographer - Yannis Vlamos

Giles - S/S 2012
Photographer - Alessandro Viero

Michael Kors - S/S 2012
Photographer - Yannis Vlamos

Hervé Leger - S/S 2012
Photographer - Yannis Vlamos

Prada - S/S 2012
Photographer - Monica Feudi

Proenza Schouler - S/S 2012
Photographer - Monica Feudi
All runway images courtesy of style.com