Casting Crisis

T Magazine went behind the scenes at castings for three of New York Fashion Week's biggest shows - 3.1 Phillip Lim, Altuzarra and Band of Outsiders. Booking a spot in any of the three line-ups for 3.1 Phillip Lim, Altuzarra and Band of Outsiders, guarantees a model maximum exposure and a berth that may potentially carry through to the shows in London, Paris and Milan. With casting directors Kannon Rajah at the helm for Altuzarra and whiz kid Daniel Peddle keeping a close eye on proceedings at 3.1 Phillip Lim and Band of Outsiders, every established model and newcomer worth talking about, was ready to be put through their paces.

3.1 Phillip Lim Casting
Kendra Spears reflects
Photographer - Kevin Tachman

3.1 Phillip Lim Casting
Andie Arthur & Maud Welzen
Photographer - Kevin Tachman

3.1 Phillip Lim Casting
Jeneil Williams
Photographer - Kevin Tachman

3.1 Phillip Lim Casting
Caught off Guard
Photographer - Kevin Tachman

3.1 Phillip Lim Casting
Xiao Wen Ju
Photographer - Kevin Tachman

3.1 Phillip Lim Casting
Sitting Pretty
Photographer - Kevin Tachman

3.1 Phillip Lim Casting
Tao Okamoto
Photographer - Kevin Tachman

Altuzarra Casting
Emily Baker
Photographer - Samantha Casolari

Altuzarra Casting
Josephine Skriver
Photographer - Samantha Casolari

Altuzarra Casting
Lindsey Wixson
Photographer - Samantha Casolari

Altuzarra Casting
Unidentified Model
Photographer - Samantha Casolari

Altuzarra Casting
Lina Zhang
Photographer - Samantha Casolari

Band of Outsiders Casting
Jessica Clarke
Photographer - Kevin Tachman

Band of Outsiders Casting
Photographer - Kevin Tachman

Band of Outsiders Casting
Sarah Blomqvist
Photographer - Kevin Tachman

Band of Outsiders Casting
Under Close Scrutiny
Photographer - Kevin Tachman
All images courtesy of www.tmagazine.blog.nytimes.com

Element of Surprise

Whilst it's always lovely to see established models like Natasha Poly, Karmen Pedaru, and Raquel Zimmermann booking campaign after campaign each season, every now and then it's nice to see casting directors taking a leap of faith in a newcomer. Valentino's campaign shot by the amazing Deborah Turbeville, features four of modellings up-and-coming talent; Bette Franke, Fei Fei Sun, Maud Welzen and Zuzanna Bijoch. Turbeville's enigmatic photographic style perfectly captures the romanticism and mysterious ethereal-like beauty of Valentino's Spring/Summer 2012 collection. Each of the four models is uniquely beautiful and possesses that indefinable star quality that is campaign worthy.

Maud Welzen, Zuzanna Bijoch, Bette Franke & Fei Fei Sun
Valentino - S/S 2012
Photographer - Deborah Turbeville
Source - fashiongonerogue.com

Hervé Leger enlists photographer Camilla Akrans to capture the exquisite beauty of former America's Next Top Model alumni Fatima Siad for its Spring/Summer 2012 campaign. Siad looks every bit the warrior goddess in a gladiator inspired bandeau dress whilst posing alongside a white horse. The Somali-Ethiopian model has more than earnt her stripes, having branched out on her own in the modelling world, turning heads at the recent Spring/Summer 2012 collections with appearances at Hermés, Dries Van Noten, and Andrew Gn.

Fatima Siad
Hervé Leger - S/S 2012
Photographer - Camilla Akrans
Source - fashiongonerogue.com

Chinese newcomer Xiao Wen Ju scores the campaign coup of the season with an only girl slot for Marc Jacobs. The designer enlists twenty year old Wen Ju to be the first Chinese campaign star for the prestigious label. The Xian native represented by IMG Model Management has been modelling for only a year and has already appeared in Love, American Vogue, French Revue de Modes, V Magazine and Interview. Wen Ju's wide set eyes, doll-like features and petite frame bring a freshness and an element of surprise to the Juergen Teller lensed campaign images. Wen Ju was hard not to notice at the Spring/Summer 2012 collections where she walked for the likes of Louis Vuitton, Loewe, Dsquared2, Missoni, Anteprima, DKNY, Rag & Bone, 3.1 Philip Lim, Cushnie et Ochs , Peter Som and of course, Marc Jacobs.

Xiao Wen Ju
Marc Jacobs - S/S 2012
Photographer - Juergen Teller
Source - models.com

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

Class of 2011

V Spain highlights the newest faces in modelling for its June 2011 feature entitled "Back to School." Codie Young, Maud Welzen, Kate King, Ruby Aldridge and Marique Schimmel pose for Terry Tsiolis and demonstrate why they are currently under the radar of the most influential casting directors, photographers and magazine editors. Young, Welzen, Schimmel, King et al. eclipsed the competition at the recent Fall/Winter 2011 shows and are only just beginning to convert that exposure into real editorial and campaign traction. Schimmel appears in the latest D&G campaign shot by Mario Testino, and King features alongside established models Liu Wen, Isabeli Fontana and Constance Jablonski in the Dolce Gabbana Campaign lensed by Steven Klein.

Codie Young & Ruby Aldridge

Annabelle Tsaboukas & Kate King

Marique Schimmel & Ruby Aldridge

Hannah Noble & Ros Georgou

Maud Welzen & Kat Hessen
V Spain - June 2011
Photographer - Terry Tsiolis
Source - models.com

Fall/Winter 2011 New Faces Maud Welzen

Dutch model Maud Welzen made her debut last September at the Spring/Summer 2011 collections and her poise and experience are now paying dividends at the Fall/Winter 2011 shows. Represented by DNA Models in New York, Welzen tread the runways for Calvin Klein, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Marc Jacobs, BCBG Max Azria, Preen, Herve Leger, Vera Wang, Halston, Prada, Gucci, Max Mara, Anteprima and Gian Franco Ferre. Standing at 177cm in height, Welzen's honey golden tresses and angelic, cherub like features have drawn comparisons to former top model Kirsty Hume.

DNA show card
Source - models.com

Maud Welzen
Courtesy of yorick.blogspot.com
Source - thefashionspot.com

Natural Beauty
Source - coacd.com

Prada S/S 2011
Photographer - Monica Feudi

Herve Leger S/S 2011
Photographer - Alessandro Viero

Calvin Klein S/S 2011
Photographer - Marcus Tondo

Halston S/S 2011
Photographer - Filippo Fior

Vera Wang S/S 2011
Photographer - Yannis Vlamos
All runway images courtesy of style.com