As the photographer Oliviero Toscani says: "Each of us is a model, because everyone is the protagonist of his own life..." Beyond opinions or clichés, this faqs is addressed to girls and boys who aspire to the world of fashion, entertainment and cinema. They are ideas and thoughts that are the result of a path that summarizes the experiences accumulated by me, Grazia in almost thirty years of work in the fashion industry, in a world that changes so quickly...!

• 1. AGREEMENT
• 2. VOCABULARY
• 3. ABOUT US
• 4. FASHION SHOW
• 5. PHOTOGRAPHER, VIDEOBOOK AND COMPOSIT - NECESSARY INVESTMENT.
• 6. THE AGENCY CHOICE
• 7. MODEL
• 8. THE ROLE OF ASPIRING ACTOR/ACTRESS

1. AGREEMENT

Fashion Concept is a family, it has a responsible attitude towards all its models because it is determined to cultivate and develop their long-term career. We care for our models as people and not as numbers or turnover and we put their attention, safety and satisfaction above all else. For our customers, we always take an extra step and we committed to being courteous and professional in every aspect of our business.

If we accept a minor model, we are able to propose him/her only jobs (in the ways and times agreed with the family), such as job proposals at certain times of the year, during holidays or weekends, because we completely understand that school education comes first.

Fake

Beware of people posing as fashion agents in social chats. In the past, unscrupulous people have created profiles on Facebook and other social networks presenting themselves as our agents. We have reported all of them to Polizia Postale and there are still processes in progress. Our team is composed by:
Our bookers are Giulia and Camilla;
the administrator Grazia,
the social manager Filippo.
On Instagram, through the channels Casting in Rome, our Fc Advisor work as scouters. Please take note that who will contact you using alternative contacts or channels from the official ones, are fakes.
Please report them calling to our offices:
Florence – ph: 0556266341
Rome – ph: 06 53091179
or by email info@fashionconcept.it
and we will report them to the competent authorities.
The interviews are exclusively carried out in the presence of our managers in the offices in Florence Via Lungo L'Affrico 22/R and in Rome Via Giuseppe Gioachino Belli, 60.

EATING DISORDERS

None of us will ask you to lose 1 kg for a better career, what you eat and how you eat affects your personality, your appearance, your attitude and, most importantly, your performance. Our advice only serves to help you approach this profession in the best possible way.

In order to begin to orient yourself better in this reality, which for most of you is completely new, you need an introductory parenthesis to the most frequent words you will encounter in your path. In fact, it is appropriate to get in possession of the main terms used by professionals, which is crucial for proper communication and relationship with future interlocutors and to discover new professions.

2. VOCABULARY

CASTING: Selection. It is the first approach for the profession. Currently the 80% of the castings are online only in Milan; during the periods of the collections, a model does several castings a day. They are necessary only for clothing or footwear fitting and for professional cosmetic work so your image must always be updated. So download our app and good luck!

AGENCY:In the classic meaning, the agency is the structure that represents you and offers you advice to local and national customers based on your personal characteristics. You cannot disregard a serious agency of your territory that represents you.

MODEL: In French mannequin... in three words... Talent, beauty, height.
Her mission: to bring to life the creation you "wear". To be able to aspire to the catwalks of Fashion Week, those of high fashion designers, the measures are prohibitive: 1.80 the height; 75/77 breast 56/58 waist 84/86 hips.
To be a member of a traditional agency, that only makes management you have to respect these requests for the mainboard:
_ woman 14/25 y height +1.73 for the agency (12y & 1.72 x le Academy) 1.68 for the models.
_ man 16/28 y height +1.83 for the agency (14y & 1.80 x le Academy) 1.80 for the models.
It often happens that a good model is also a good photomodel, do you know what is the secret? Iman, the ex supermodel wife of David Bowie, says:
"Models who want to succeed on both fronts must be able to act for the camera and look more beautiful in person than on the pages of the newspapers".

BOOK:A very personal portfolio of images of the model. No model can do her/his career without an updated book with the shootings of different photographers. More and more often the model shows up at casting with the IPad with all the book loaded on it and the composit, the paper book is no longer needed.

COMPOSIT: The model's "business card". Usually the front photo of the composit represents a close-up, in the slang an image of beauty, while in the back of the composit there is a max 2 photos; the shape, the graphics, the colors and the composition vary according to the agency and the trends of the moment.

VIDEO BOOK: the client paradoxically today is terrified of retouched photos, so for online casting he asks for polaroid and if he has to choose a model for a commercial, a video or a photoshoot needs a current video in which the model transmits presence, personality and expressiveness.

This service avoids the customer’s call back and unnecessary casting with unnecessary moves. Recommended.

DIGITAL INFLUENCER:The new model business, do you have a story to tell with a video? If yes, you are a VLOGGER ! Do you have a big following on Instagram ? You are an Instagram Influencer, but beyond the exterior physical, what matters are the content.

WANNABE MODEL ON CATWALK … THE POISE:We have the most beautiful school in the capital; our former model teacher taught to parade at our Top Model Maria Carla Boscono. We offer courses in pourse for beginners, semi-professional models and Masterclasses. A unique path.

MUSE:you are very tall, very young, you are a Muse ... a rare diamond, with a unique path just for you, just for a year! Ask me how.

BOOKER: The booker works in the commercial sector of the agency, and he/she is the model's business manager. He/She is the one who calls the client or receives the call from the client and takes care of defining and planning all the details of the work.
Another aspect of the booker's work is closely related to his/her relationship with the model, the feeling that is established with the model also helps the brand reputation of the agency.

ACTOR:communicative and scenic ability for fiction, interpretative for commercials; physicality and body language for reality show auditions, this is the initial baggage of every aspiring actress/actor. The passion for this job and the culture of defeat read as motivation to get to success. These are the prerogatives of those who feel that they can succeed.

Starting, while waiting for a part for the director, you can start with figuration, living in Tuscany or Lazio, there is the possibility of casting for special figures in a commercial, a film or a fiction. Writing in a more or less famous production (it doesn't matter) is still an unforgettable emotion.

Fashion Concept has established since 2016 a new and dynamic casting and film events agency to offer real professional opportunities to aspiring actors and actresses.

BACKSTAGE: In theatrical language “the dressing rooms”. In fashion industry it is the area where the preparation of the show takes place, from the setting up of the stands to the fitting of the clothes, from the makeup to the hairstyle of the models.

BEAUTY: The portrait of beauty in professional cosmetics. There are photographers specialized in beauty and models not taller (for examples: 1.70 cm) that work all year round with a look, a face, a "particular" skin. Many times beautiful and well-groomed hands and feet are decisive for the choice of important photo shoots and advertising campaigns.

BEAUTY COMPETITIONS: The smartest way to gain experience and make yourself known.
Interesting is the proposal of Miss Red Carpet, the competition chosen by Fashion Concept for the search of faces for the Cinema that takes place the first week of September during the Venice Lido Film Festival. Every year we select the final 5 models from Tuscany and 5 ones from Lazio. Three models are the national Miss Fasciate: in 2016 Rachele Luschi, in 2017 Samary Castro and Miss Red Carpet 2019 Cinema is the Tuscan model Lia Setaro.

CURVY: You think you're too soft? Too soft? Too much?
Absolutely not! If you have a pleasant beauty you are at least 1.70 cm tall and measures +90 cm. breast +100 cm. hips. You are simply a curvy model! Contact the Fashion Concept bookers in Florence and Rome for all the info.

3.ABOUT US

Fashion Concept was born in Florence in 1992 and now, for many years, is also present in Rome, in a path of sharing experiences and emotions!

It can be useful to make those who, with the ambition of becoming a protagonist in this world, spend or want their parents to spend excessive sums, often disproportionate and almost always unfortunately useless, reflect: it is important to immediately understand "who we are and what we don't want but we can do instead...".

In fact, it is important to make it clear from the outset that in the face of a job that is beautiful, rewarding, sought-after and which in some cases allows important earnings, there is an objective difficulty in obtaining these results. Therefore, we must not delude ourselves, but make a serious commitment, because the result is not certain. It is in fact linked to several variables, including preparation, one's own requirements and other unpredictable variables such as opportunities and luck.

If you are a model, you have to find your way in Milan with the supervision of your mother agency in Rome or Florence (avoid personal adventures and risk being put in a residence with impossible costs for a bed that you risk not even being able to repay with the work).

If you want to be an actress, go and live in Rome, go to a serious acting school, or even go to a film or theatre school in your city, there are some good ones in every capital city.

Believing in who we are and what we are doing is fundamental. It is necessary to build sufficient self-esteem because confidence in one's own abilities is a difficult exercise.

As the psychologist Willy Pasini recalls "...intellectual knowledge is not enough, emotional experiences are necessary to change".

4. THE FASHION SHOW

The fashion show is a subject on which I could write a book, but fortunately for you, it is an experience that more than words should be experienced in person, because each time is always different from the previous one, for the magic of those moments, for the work and the rituals repeated ...

The Kering Group will no longer show models under the age of 18, the French luxury giant owner, Gucci, Saint Laurent and Balenciaga, has raised the minimum age of its models to 18 (years old). Both for campaigns and catwalks. The other maisons maintain the minimum age for high fashion at 16 and size 38 but if I think of Kate Moss at 14 years old on the platform ... but to get to those levels ...!

We now introduce three other concepts that will be part of your future work: show-room, fitting, presentation (trunk show).

The show room is usually the beginning of the work as a model. All day long in a representative studio or in the designer's maison; the earnings are not bad, they guarantee continuous seasonal work and you can sometimes concentrate your appointments in a specific part of the day to limit nerve-racking waits and have free time, for example for study (always bring the book of the next exam with you).

The fitting (from English to fit = to wear) is a rather frequent job. All the major brands are looking for the model who represents their collection in size and style, this also applies for male models for fitting tests. These jobs are certainly hard work but also well paid because the models fit the versability of the collections (in slang it's called "to fit") which will be presented on the market.

The presentation (trunk show) usually lasts from 20 to 40 minutes and it usually takes place in the atelier, in the single-brand store, in the center or in the design hotel near the store: few models, DJ sets and good food. It can be addressed to the press or to the sales force or the designer decides to reserve it for his best customers. The preview of the collection will be released in a few days in the ateliers and in the main magazines.

5. THE PHOTOGRAPHER. THE BOOK, THE VIDEOBOOK AND THE COMPOSIT. Necessary investment.

Now, with the exception of Milan during the hot periods of the fashion shows, casting is no longer indispensable as it once was. It often happens that models are chosen for different works: fitting or fashion shows, through your book, with photographic casting. The client don’t waste time anymore on physical casting and the vast majority of the casting becomes online with updated material for the final choice. To start this profession you need a professional test and a composit.
The service by a good photographer and at least 10 post produced images, it 's essential to rely on professionals for the realization of a book, in fact a single test is not enough, as each photographer has his own style and manages to enhance a side of your personality. GET IN THE GAME, talk to the agency, and get advice. If you live outside the area and have time, the Videobook will save your money and time because, through this videobook, who wants to see you is because they are really interested in you.
The perfect equation for working is:
A girl/boy + professional book + videobook + serious agency with certain casting = concrete job opportunities. But remember: photos and video are not enough, they are just a starting point not a finishing line! It is your agency that must follow you with workshops and updates in itinere: a real path of personal improvement.
Your booker or director will meet you and give you all advice (also on image, nutrition, body care, fitness etc.) and if you are a "rough diamond" she will invite you for posture and bearing lessons however you absorb all the info like a sponge: they are pearls of wisdom.
When your book and composit are ready, you will be really ready for the first casting. A detail that may seem trivial: the test is necessary if you are presented by a photographer sent by the agency for presentation purposes or by a stylist for the casting of a campaign, it is not necessary if you go to a company for a fitting.
When you are attending a casting for a fashion show in front of a person you don't know, you shouldn’t be worried about how you are dressed, clean, tidy, shaved, because the designer will see your portfolio, make you wear a garment to check the fit and ask you to show. If he doesn't choose you, don't make a big deal out of it, you're simply not the person who plays the collection. You can try it another time!

At the first photo-shooting you will sign a contract where it is clearly specified:
- the type of work done;
- the type of use (social/website/ sector magazine/editorial/catalog/internal use) and the agreed duration (semiannual/annual/unlimited);
- the agreed remuneration for the work and the rights to use the images.
The release guarantees both the company and the model from possible recourse in case of use as a destination of use or time frame different from that agreed.

6. THE CHOICE OF AGENCY

Unfortunately, there are some improvised characters who pass themselves off as qualified agencies (compromising the credibility of serious agencies) promising future jobs and requiring amounts of money for non-professional video / photo shoots, tuition fees, poise courses, etc.. Parents are often targeted because, in order not to hinder their children's artistic aspirations, they spend incredible amounts of money.

Some courses of full immersion posture-pose, diction in Milan, Bologna, San Marino, Rome, Padua cost from 2,500 to 8000 €uro. Wasted Money. In addition to the important investment, we generally talk about academies and not fashion agencies so, in general, there is neither a continuation nor a prospect of work in the agency for those enrolled in the courses. Parents of underage children invest important amounts of money and get the opposite result: the subject, already with a low self-esteem, loses all the few certainties.

In addition to the exhortation to rely on professionals for the realization of the material, we recommend you: - do not pay one euro for a registration fee because an agency does not choose all the people who show up, as they turn to a specific type of models; - do not respond to equivocal ads: fashion agencies hardly advertise, apart from the visibility on the internet and social networks, (unless they realize their main business with the sale of courses in deportment, diction, cinema);
- don't pay any money just to be represented by an agency (beyond the minimum investment necessary for photographic tests and basic training) because it is the same one that, if you want, proposes you to the clients keeping its percentage;
- before accepting job proposals, check if the agency or the person who proposes it has a site and the client portfolio of the same. Please, do not accept work by voice, always demand the written form.

Keep in mind that the management of an agency has important fixed costs (offices, personnel, management expenses and tax advice, etc..) so it is the professionalism of a structure and relationships consolidated over time that can give added value to your work, so if you have no experience you will need to receive appropriate materials and info. In each works the agency applies the fee (usually 20%_30%) on the budget agreed with the client declaring, before starting a professional relationship, the percentages that will be applied to the work proposed to the models/actors. The agency fees are recognized by the client to the agency for selection and grading and are not deducted in any way from the compensation of the selected person.

7. THE MALE MODEL

The male modeling profession is in many ways different from the female one because it usually starts and ends much later. There are professional models who work up to 50 years and over. A model usually starts at the end of secondary school and then alternates study with work, in many cases the approach is random.

In the most important agencies there are specialized and dedicated "men division". The model also manages to manage its knowledge in the sector, creating new professional skills when he is thirty and forty years old: this is how good photographers, make-up artists, stylers, directors, fashion editors, AD of advertising agencies or managers of Haute Couture company lines are born. For this reason, good luck to future models!

8. THE ASPIRING ACTOR/ACTRESS.

Every month there are important productions in Lazio, Umbria but especially in Tuscany (an open-air set). To approach this world, you can try this experience as an extra actor (the pay is over 80 euros per day)!
For a professional presentation it is necessary:
- a photo book in black and white / color;
- a showreel presentation.
The showreel (read video book for actor ) is the easiest tool to introduce yourself and to let a director know if you are the character he is looking for. The video usually lasts around one minute.
Fashion Concept since 2017 has opened an agency that represents professional actors and actresses and that also enhances new emerging talents.
Film lessons. In Florence and Rome actors and directors of national level and fame introduce the main themes for the improvement of a professional path.
So good luck, we are waiting for you in the agency.