BCBG's Forecast

BCBG Max Azria held its eagerly anticipated Fall/Winter 2011 show on Thursday, revealing a stellar line-up of stunning brunettes. Returning to the fore were last season's Kate King, Zuzanna Bijoch, Daga Ziober, Sara Blomqvist, Amanda Ware, Juju Invanyuk, Nimue Smit and Brenda Kranz. Red hot newcomers Lara Mullen, Maria Bradley, Katryn Kruger, Kati Nescher, Josefien Rodermans, Mackenzie Drazan, Ella Kandyba, Othilia Simon and Katlin Aas were joined by surprise package, Sharam Diniz. Diniz who hails from Angola, was one of only two models of colour (the other being Shu Pei Qin) featured in BCBG's cast. A complete unknown, Diniz was the Portugal Ford Look of the Year winner in 2009 and has only walked previously at Portugal Fashion Week. With Max Azria and Hervé Leger to show next week it will be interesting to see who else casting duo Barbara Nicoli and Leila Ananna throw into the mix.

Sharam Diniz

Katryn Kruger

Shu Pei Qin

Lara Mullen

Kati Nescher

Juju Ivanyuk

Josefien Rodermans

Maria Bradley

Brenda Kranz
BCBG Max Azria - F/W 2012
Photographer - Yannis Vlamos
Source - style.com

The Countdown Begins...

With less than a week to go before the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show kicks off, chat forums are abuzz with speculation as to which models will make the final line-up for what is inarguably one of the most lucrative jobs for any model. The casting process for the coveted 30 or so spots that make up the show's cast is gruelling. Modelinia.com got the inside scoop at a casting last week at the Victoria's Secret HQ, as models lined the hallways outside the casting room waiting for their opportunity to wow casting director John Pfeiffer and his team.

Josephine Skriver

Spotted at the casting were familiar faces Lily Donaldson, Emanuela de Paula, Constance Jablonski, Arelnis Sosa, Katsia Zingarevich, Maryna Linchuk and Shannan Click, all of whom have previously walked in the show. With only 10 to 15 spots up for grabs for Victoria's Secret newbies, the pressure was on for Britt Maren, Jourdan Dunn, Jasmine Tookes, Josephine Skriver, Alyssa Miller, Shanina Sheik, Elsa Hosk, Sui He, Frida Gustavsson, Anais Mali, Bregje Heinen and Juju Ivanyuk amongst others to impress.

Jourdan Dunn

Lily Donaldson

Constance Jablonski

Speaking with modelinia.com, John Pfeiffer shed light on the casting process, noting that "Just because a girl has walked before doesn't mean she'll walk again. Everything from their bodies to their overall look changes, so we have to see them again and again." Pfeiffer keeps an eye out for potential Victoria's Secret runway candidates throughout the year and has his radar firmly set on a number of faces, "Bregje (Heinen) is finally 18 so we were really excited to see her. Karlie (Kloss) is also of age this year, so hopefully she'll walk the show."

Bregje Heinen

Britt Maren

Jasmine Tookes

Candice Swanepoel, Miranda Kerr, Alessandra Ambrosio, Adriana Lima, Lily Aldridge, Chanel Iman, Behati Prinsloo, Doutzen Kroes, Lais Ribeiro, Izabel Goulart, Lindsay Ellington and Erin Heatherton have so far been confirmed for the show. In the meantime, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for hopefuls Toni Garrn, Melodie Monrose, Sui He, Jourdan Dunn, Karlie Kloss, Shanina Shaik, Chrishell Stubbs, Anais Mali and Milou Sluis.

Emanuela de Paula

Katsia Zingarevich

Juju Ivanyuk
Photographer for all images - Victoria Stevens
All images courtesy of modelinia.com

Go & See

Go-sees play a fundamental role in a model's day-to-day existence and usually involves trudging from one end of town to the other chasing appointments. Upon arrival at the client's designated address, the model switches from her comfortable flats to heels and walks the length of the room, stopping, turning, and walking back. The client or casting agent then takes a a series of polaroids usually a front and side profile shot, and the go-see is over in a matter of minutes. It may seem like an uncomplicated, seamless process however, imagine trying to make a lasting impression within the space of three minutes whilst being scrutinised from head to toe amongst an endless stream of model hopefuls.

Ezra Petronio the editor-in-chief and creative director of Self Service Magazine has mastered the art of capturing a model at her best within a simple polaroid shot. The beauty of a polaroid is that there are no props, styling, and visual wizardry to distract from the model's face. In essence, the focus is entirely on the model, her face, skin tone and presence. Either the goods are there, or they ain't. The following series of go-see polaroids taken by Petronio of some of modelling's biggest names and emerging new faces illustrate best how to impress. 

Juju Ivanyuk

Asa Engstrom

Hanaa Ben Abdesslem

Tanya Dziahileva

Karlie Kloss

Toni Garrn

Jacquelyn Jablonski

Magdalena Frackowiak

Karmen Pedaru

Joan Smalls

Emily Baker

Jourdan Dunn

Milou Van Groesen

Frida Gustavsson

Hailey Clauson

Constance Jablonski

Sofya Tytova
Photographer - Ezra Petronio
Source - selfservicemagazine.com