Two more days of Paris Fashion Week. And as they say in French, a lot of people in the business would like to be three days older.
But we’ll all just have to go it one day at a time. Nerves can be frazzled though, for bookers and models alike.
Some of the girls have had the opportunity this week to learn something interesting about the business. Actually, I’m sure every girl has had the opportunity to learn several interesting things this week about the business and about herself. But one thing in particular I’ve noticed this time around is what I call the “Eleventh Hour” syndrome.
Some of them were fretting because they were doing lots of castings but weren’t getting many confirmations up front. Others were upset because they weren’t re-booked for clients whose shows they did last season.
The booker’s job is to keep the model focused and positive as she goes back out there for another round of castings. It’s something like the trainer who gives the boxer water and a back rub while he slumps into the corner of the ring for a few moments’ rest.
The model has to keep the faith. And she HAS to keep her glow. So even when it looks like things aren’t going her way, the rock-solid model keeps her energy high and the charisma turned on. No matter what’s going on inside, this is what she must project to the outside. Otherwise, it just won’t work.
If she can do that, more often than not something will come in at the ‘eleventh hour’. A client who’d asked to see her 3 times and still hasn’t confirmed, finally does the day before the show. The casting director who booked her for four different shows last season but doesn’t re-book her for any of them this season calls half-way through the Collections to say she’s booked for the shows of someone new altogether.
In the case of Malvina, she was disappointed because she’s only done two shows. True, it’s less than 3, but a lot more than 0. And most of the girls in town doing the castings got that many shows–0.
But interestingly, because of those two shows, Malvina was seen by the iconic photographer Sarah Moon, who was in the audience. And she is now booked for what promises to be a beautiful editorial spread with Moon.
My point is, it ain’t over ’til it’s over. These girls who said all was lost because it wasn’t going as well as they’d hoped/expected at the half-way, two-thirds, or even seven-eighths mark have gone through needless suffering. And maybe even lost some potential bookings due to the negative hit their energy level and sparkle took as a result.
Much more pleasant and productive an experience to keep on smiling–right up to the eleventh hour!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Kim, Your blogs are always wonderfully written, with expressive, elegant language, and a well-conveyed message. And the messages are deep–never superficial–and translate easily into ‘regular life’, not just the modeling world… Universal messages, in short–ones we can all use, over and over. To me, this particular message was about keeping faith, and focus, and tapping into the ability we all have to create and control our own destiny–in a positive way, if we so choose… Thank you for sharing this wisdom with us, Kim!
In this blog you have clearly focused on how every career has the same difficulties, this industry just may be more compressed, in that you have a finite period of time to make your achievement before the merry-go round moves on, until next time. Your statements, again, ring so true for all of life. We must keep our smiles bright, our best foot forward, always doing our best work and coming from our highest integrity, as we never know what opportunity is on the horizon and who may be watching. Thank you, again, for your clear message.