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With many mainboard models
securing high calibre jobs during
the past year such as 17-year-old
Helena McKelvie, who featured in
the televised Rimmel campaign, and
Jamie Walker, who walked at the
Men’s Fashion Week in London, the
pressure is on to maintain a high
quality of model. During this allotted
weekly slot success for Cathy and
Jillian can be hit or miss. Jillian said,
“Sometimes we only get two people
through the door and sometimes
we can have up to 20. It really varies.
There will be days where no one
stands out and days when we find
several potential signings.”
The first person to visit is a dainty
dark haired girl around the age of 17.
She nervously peeks her head round
the door and sits on the couch,
fidgeting with her bracelet, head
down. Reflecting back on my tender
teenager years, I sympathise. The
prospect of being assessed on your
aesthetics alone would have sent me
running. Jillian approaches her in the
same way she did me, all warmth and
reassuring smiles. Her role in this process
immediately becomes apparent. She kindly
talks the young girl through the form and
offers to take her measurements.
After filling out her form, the potential
model is directed to a white wall and
told to do several basic natural poses for
some test shots. I cannot work out if it is
Jillian’s charm or not but, in front of the
camera, each aspiring model transforms.
With several eyes watching and a camera
pointed in her face each of the four young
girls who visit find confidence. Each girl is
taken outside for some more shots.With
a turnaround of roughly ten minutes, each
potential model has left and, before I know
it, the photos are being assessed.
It becomes clear that this particular
job requires a trained eye. In an industry
which sells beauty, each minute feature is
assessed. One girl is too plain, the other’s
face is just a little too long, another looks
too much like a model already on their
books and the last is too young.Despite the
lack of success in this particular open call,
Cathy and Jillian remain optimistic. Once a
model is picked up from a casting call their
picture is put on the pin board until they
have undergone a test shoot. It is crucial to
emphasise that this can be done expense
free. Though the model will not initially
get paid for photo-shoots, especially when
testing, they should not have to pay for
them either unless they choose to do so.
Cathy comments,“Jillian and I always find it
really interesting to see if what you saw in
a particular boy or girl comes into fruition
in their test shots. Often it does not but
when it does we get very excited and you
do feel genuinely happy for the person.”
After a successful test shoot a model is
then signed to The Model Team as a new
face and is ready to undergo
development. Cathy smiles
with heartfelt enthusiasm
as she shows me images
marking the progression
of certain models,
“Initially it is all about
testing as much as
possible and explaining
to the model that not
every test will result
in amazing pictures
but that every test
will add to their
confidence,
their
experience
and
their ability. We assess the
results and decide how best to market
them.”
For Cathy watching models develop
and grow from young boys and girls to
professional men and women is, possibly,
the most rewarding aspect of her job.
However,with this also comes the challenge
of managing teenagers: “When you book
somebody out you are relying on them
to be an extension of your brand, your
reputation and the agency. The majority
of our models are professional, sensible
and reliable but sometimes they are not
and you cannot control that.” With this
in mind, Cathy makes sure all her models
are kept in line and has no problem being
stern when necessary, “I have a reputation
of being quite firm and strict. If a model
does behave unprofessionally we do not
tolerate it time and time again. I think that
most of the models are aware of this but
sometimes there is just no getting away
from the fact that you manage teenagers.”
In managing teenagers it is also
important for model agents to provide
a role of care and support. At
a time in life when emotional
development is vital, Cathy
handles sensitive cases carefully
and properly. With agencies
abroad demanding precise
measurements, the issue of
weight is one that surrounds
the modelling industry and is
something Cathy has become
accustom to handling, “If there
is a particular agency following a
girl on our books who is 16 years
old and they tell me that her
body is not right for them at the
moment, I have to then address
that fact. This can be difficult
because most girls are already
slim but for an international
market there is a different set
of body ideals but if you tell a
16-year-old girl that, they can
take it very literally.When I tell
someone they have to work on
their body, I am very conscious
of striking the right balance.”
With a young son
h e r s e l f ,
Cathy is always respectful of
the parent,“I usually speak to their parents
first if they are under 18 or if I do not
think they are mature enough to take the
information on board. I usually ask if the
parent would like to talk to their child or if
they would be happy for me to address it.
We usually tell models not to diet but to
increase their exercise.”
In providing such support and aid to
young models, it is no wonder that The
Model Team is Scotland’s most popular
choice of agency for aspiring models.
Over the past year, the agency has seen
several of their models work on large
campaigns, front cover of magazines, tread
the catwalks of London and Milan and get
signed to agencies internationally. It seems
the reputation of the agency is well earned
and that The Model Team will continue to
reign proudly over the Scottish fashion
industry.
www.modelteam.co.uk