'Have patience', the mantra for models breaking into fashion

Paris - “There are more nos than yeses”. Dozens of models attend castings hoping to walk at Paris Fashion Week. It is an opportunity that offers significant visibility and can boost their careers, yet it is difficult to achieve.

From pre-selections to final fittings, the path is long and full of obstacles for candidates aspiring to walk in the Parisian shows for major fashion brands.

The journey is even more challenging for newcomers, such as French model Benjamin Conan. An actor by trade, he has decided to step into the world of fashion.

Before attending castings, the dark-haired, blue-eyed model says he prepares himself well physically.

“I drink a lot of water. I go for a run [...]. I am also extremely careful about what I eat and I meditate,” the 23-year-old actor, who recently signed with the Parisian agency Dream Model Agency, explained to AFP.

He is very aware that if he wants to go far, he must take it slowly.

“In this industry, much like in cinema, when you are accepted for a casting, for a brand, for a show... everything can change. It is a snowball effect, which is great, but you have to be patient,” he says.

Kenza Thiam, 21, has also often had to return home empty-handed after an audition.

“You have to get used to hearing no, because in the world of modelling there are more nos than yeses, but it is not necessarily negative. It is a matter of trends and fitting the concept of the show,” says the French model from the same agency. She debuted a couple of years ago but has only taken the profession seriously in the last few months.

Psychological preparation

Activity is frantic in the days leading up to fashion week.

As soon as the official show schedule is published, agencies propose their candidates to casting directors. If selected, they must undergo further tests to see if they are suitable for the show.

One of the final tests is the fitting, where the clothes are tried on to see how they look on the model and if they truly work on the runway.

Even upon reaching these final stages, it is still not certain that a candidate will walk in the show.

“It is very competitive; you attend the casting with many other models,” says Anastasia Gormala, 27.

“I try to prepare myself not only physically but also psychologically. I try to be very positive,” says the Russian model, who has been based in Paris for three and a half years.

“In the end, you try to go, do your best, and then leave and wait for the result,” adds the blue-eyed, blonde model.

Most important moment

This uncertainty is also familiar to Margarita Gambles and Lydia Burns, who run the Barcelona-based agency The Gamblers.

Gambles and Burns, both active models themselves, know this entire process “first-hand”, unlike many agents who do not know what it is like to go to a casting, they explain.

Their agency, which represents about 25 models, has many “new faces” or newcomers, such as Jonathan Masher, a 20-year-old South African looking to start his runway career.

“For an agency to represent you means it has a certain confidence that you will get jobs,” he says in Paris, where he plans to attend several last-minute castings to secure a show.

The experience of Gambles and Burns is invaluable for advising their candidates.

“Something models often think is that their walk is everything, and that is not true,” says Gambles. “The most important moment is when you enter the room; at that point, as a casting director, you have already somewhat made up your mind about whether you like them or not,” she asserts.

Ultimately, even if a model makes a good first impression, fits the style of the collection, or suits the designer's vision, the nervousness persists until the very last minute.

As the saying goes among models, he comments: “You do not know you are walking in the show until you are on the runway”.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

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