How to Dress for a Modelling Interview
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If you’re lucky enough to get a face-to-face interview with a modelling agency or client firstly – well done! You’ve done fantastically to get that far in such a competitive industry. But for such an important meeting the big question is – what on earth do you wear? Follow our tips and we’ll help you to get it right.
Outfit
Although you’re out to impress and you obviously want to show your fashion credentials, an interview is not the time to be showcasing the statement pieces from your wardrobe. Your interviewer will be trying to imagine how you will look in their collection so it’s better to keep it really simple – neat and contemporary, but fairly plain. Casting agents will want to see your figure so go for form-fitting clothing. Skinny jeans and a close-fitting vest or T-shirt is perfect.
Shoes
Depending on the nature of the casting, you may be asked to walk for the client. This means you need to be able to show that you can walk in heels, so they’re the natural footwear choice. They’ll also make you look taller and more confident for that initial first impression. Plain black or nude court shoes are perfect.
Underwear
You may be asked to try on any kind of garment, so make sure your underwear doesn’t let you down. A smooth nude bra and matching briefs are essential. We’d recommend wearing or taking with you a strapless or multiway bra so that you’re ready for any kind of outfit. Make sure you’re wearing the right size so that your bust is well supported and you have a lovely silhouette.
Hair & Make Up
Much along the same lines as your clothing, you need to keep your hair and make-up simple. A casting agent will want to look at you as a blank canvas for whatever style they have in mind. Keep make up natural looking and not too heavy on the foundation so that they can see how good your skin is. Wear your hair down or scraped back neatly.
So there are our tips! It’s not about wowing them with what you wear – it’s about wowing them with your personality and modelling skills, so let that shine through.
How to Get a Good Skin Routine
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If you want to make it in the modelling industry, having good skin is something that will definitely stand you in good stead. Clients ideally look for models that won’t require excessive make-up or re-touching so having great skin makes things easier for them. Some people seem naturally blessed with fab skin, and unfortunately it’s not the kind of thing you can just change overnight. But there are lots of things you can do to help. Here are our top tips:
Project your skin from sun damage
One of the most aging things you can do is go on a sun bed so make sure you steer clear. A good sunscreen used on a daily basis or a moisturiser with SPF will help protect your skin from day to day exposure to the sun.
Eat well
Getting the right nutrients will work wonders for your skin. Healthy skin needs vitamins A, C, E, B2 and K. If you have a good mix of fruit and vegetables in your diet (try and get your 5 a day) plus proteins like lean meat and eggs you will no doubt have all the bases covered. Dark, leafy greens are particularly good for you. Nuts and seeds are rich in vitamin E and make great snacks if you get peckish during the day.
It’s not just for vitamins that you need your fruit and veg – they’re also full of fibre. Eating more fibre will speed up your digestive system, which will get toxins out of your body more quickly. Other ways to increase your fibre intake include brown rice and whole grain or high bran cereals – try switching your usual bread/rice/pasta for the brown or wholegrain alternative.
Your diet will also need plenty of essential fatty acids (EFA’s) such as omega 3. Oily fish and flaxseed is great for omega 3; alternatively you could try taking a supplement such as like cod liver oil.
Drink lots of water
Drinking plenty of water aids digestion and will leave you feeling less sluggish. Herbal tea and fruit juice is also good for you in moderation but try and avoid tea and coffee, alcohol and sugary drinks. Where possible of course – nobody’s perfect!
Exercise
Doing a little bit of exercise as often as you can is a great way to boost your metabolism and digestion. Keep at it and it will soon start showing in your skin. The best exercise to do is cardiovascular activity that gets your heart pumping a little faster. Simply doing more walking is a great place to start.
Good skincare regime
The secret to a good skincare routine is to first identify what type of skin you have; dry, oily, combination or sensitive, and then stick to the kind of products that suit it best. Don’t use harsh toners if you have dry or sensitive skin. Try not to overload your skin with too many products, keep a simple repertoire of products. Always moisturise after you shower, always take your make-up off before you go to bed and exfoliate about once a week.
Remember, it can take up to 6 weeks for the benefits to start showing on your skin, so keep at it. The better your skin looks, the less make-up you’ll need to wear, which in turn will make your skin even better!
How to walk on the catwalk
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The winners of our model competition will receive some invaluable tuition on how to perfect their runway strut. But what if you want to get a head start? Simply follow our tips…
Get your posture right
Before you even take a step, you need to get your posture right. When you’re a catwalk model you need to exude confidence, so that means shoulders back and head held high! Imagine you’ve got a piece of string running up out of the top of your head holding you upright.
Walk the walk
Pay attention to those toes! You should walk with your toes pointed straight forward, and aim to place your feet in a straight line in front of each other – this will give your hips a sexy sway. Don’t bring your feet too far in with each step or you’ll end up walking a wobbly, drunken looking line instead of a straight one! Don’t flap your feet down – take a measured heel to toe approach. Longer strides look more elegant and confident than baby steps – you may need to lift your knees higher to achieve this. Try and let your arms and hands do what they would do naturally, with relaxed hands. Your upper body should remain as still as possible whilst your legs and hips do the work.
Pause for thought
When you hit the end of the catwalk, turn your body to the side but face forward, dropping your weight onto one leg. Pause and hold your pose for just a beat then turn and strut back down again, turning your head at the very last moment.
The eyes have it
Regardless of what you do with your body, you can’t look confident and sexy unless your face says so too. Look confidently straight ahead – and don’t watch your feet. The client will know what sort of look they are going for so follow the brief, be it smiley, sultry or tough. Practice different looks in the mirror.
Practice makes perfect
Even with all the best advice in the world, there is no substitute for practice. Get a close friend or family member to give you some tips, or ask them to film you so that you can watch your walk back again and see what can be improved. Once you’ve got the basics right you can add a subtle twist to really make your walk your own – your ‘signature walk’. Watch videos of some of the most successful models and see what they do to add character to your walk.
It’s time to get practising ladies!
Here are some of the finalists from last year’s model competition strutting their stuff!
Catalogue Modelling Tips
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Modelling isn’t all about catwalks and fashion shows: you can have a very successful (and lucrative) career as a catalogue model. These days it’s not just about taking shots for paper catalogues – websites for fashion retailers are just as important, if not more so.
Catalogue modelling can vary greatly depending on what the client wants. Some retailers purely display the clothing, showing just the model’s body and not their face, so the model is literally used a mannequin. Often, shoots will take place in a studio, and sometimes they’re on location.
At Simply Be we do the majority of our shoots on location, and we’ve taken our models everywhere from Paris to Morocco! The advantage of the more exotic locations is that the light is so much better. The right location can also really add to the mood of a collection.
Some of our Simply Be shoots are held in studios. This gives a much cleaner look and keeps the focus all on the clothing. This can be a more challenging shoot for a model as there are no props or scenery to interact with. Not that it’s a problem for our models!
The main thing the client will be looking for from a catalogue shoot is variety. When a customer is faced with a catalogue spread or a page of dresses on a website, they don’t want to see the same facial expression or pose over and over again. So get in front of that mirror and see how versatile you can be. Remember though, if your pose obscures too much detail of the product that shot won’t be selected. You’ve still got to sell the product so make sure you show off the item as best you can. Does it have a full skirt or flowing sleeves? Work with the product to show it off to its best advantage. Do your research about the brand as well to see what style they prefer. At Simply Be we prefer smiles and giggles to moody pouts!
In catalogue modelling you’ll often be asked to work with props, be it a cup of coffee, a hat or a motorbike! It’s a great way to introduce variety into a shoot. The model’s job here to make it look natural. It can be a fine line between pulling off a natural pose with a prop and falling into a really obvious cheesy pose – and that’s when good models can show what they’re made of.
How to take a good model competition entry photo
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We’re sure you’ve heard about our plus size model search by now – we’re on the look out for the new face of Simply Be! For full info on how to enter our model competition, visit Simply Be.
So you’ve got until the end of August to send your model comp entry photos to simplybefashion(at)hotmail.co.uk. We’ve asked for 3 photos from you, including a full-length shot, a headshot and side profile. The photos need to be either 6″x4″ or 7″x5″ in size but don’t worry too much about the size – as long as they are large enough for us to see you clearly you’ll be fine!
But where do you start with taking your photos? Firstly, think about the Simply Be brand. We’re about confidence and loving your curves! So let’s see that confidence shine through in your pics.
Now this may sound like a strange one, but make sure your photos look like you. We want the essence of your personality to come through; so don’t feel like you have to pretend to be someone you’re not. Plus if you get through to the final, we’ll be expecting to see someone that looks like your photos!
By all means do your hair and make-up – of course you want to look your best! But please don’t use Photoshop or anything similar to alter your appearance in any way. We want to see the real you.
Lighting is very important. Try to find a room with as much natural light as possible and make sure the light is to the front or side of you rather than behind you, or you’ll look really dark. And if you can pose in front of a plain background, all the better – it’s all about you!
Do you have any top tips for taking a good photo that you’d like to share? If so – post them below!
Simply Be Plus Size Model Competition
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As you may well have heard by now… Simply Be has launched a brand new model search!
We’re on the look out for women with the curves, confidence and personality to represent Simply Be. Thw winner will receive all kinds of wonderful prizes – including a shoot with Simply Be and a consultation with 12+ Model Management!
There are no age or height restrictions, and the only size requirement is that you be size 14+. UK only.
Here’s a video starring our Simply Be models and last year’s winner Amy to inspire you:
Here’s Amy on her first day modelling for Simply Be:
If you think you’ve got what it takes, everything you need to know to enter is right here
Good luck! We look forward to hearing from you…
Simply Be & Plus Size News July Round-Up
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We thought we’d do a little round up of some of the things that have been happening over the past month, in case you missed any of it.
Following on from on Zandra Rhodes collection launch, there have been lots of fab write-ups from around the blogosphere.
LaCara from Oh La La Curves did a fab write-up, including some breathtaking pics of London from the top of the amazing Paramount venue.
Lauren of Pocket Rocket has some more wonderful pics and shares her take on the range.
Naomi of Diamonds ‘n’ Pearls got a lot of love for her pineapple print tunic dress too.
We gave some of our fave bloggers brand exclusives before our AW11 collection went live.
Lauren wrote about Bespoke and made a fab Lookbook montage.
Kat at Plus Size Beauty covered Frock and Frill after she wore the range to the Zandra Rhodes launch.
Em over at Boombands got an exclusive on Anna Scholz, as she’s such a big fan of the designer.
LaCara blogged about Angel Ribbons - some gorgeous lace pieces this season.
Em from Boombands also covered some of her recent Simply Be acquisitions
She looks so fab in her Joe Browns tunic top.
…and super glam in her maxi dress from our Very Berry collection.
And on the plus size news front?
Many of us in the plus size community were surprised to learn in an interview with model Marquita Pring that she ‘pads up’ for certain clients who require her to look larger than she is.
Hot on the heels of the Vogue Italia cover starring Simply Be model, Candice Huffine, Vogue Australia has featured its first ever plus size spread featuring the gorgeous Robyn Lawley.
Simply Be have been nominated for a Company High Street Fashion Award - vote for us here.
Oh yes and one more thing (although this is technically August news) – we have just launched our 2011 Model Competition! More on that to follow, but in the mean time, get all the deets here.