Casting Directors : Who Are They? What Do They Do? Etc...

[fashionlover2001]

"As a woman of colour, I am a major advocate for ethnic diversity in the industry. As recently as last year, I cast a show exclusively featuring black and ethnic models for an important house in New York."

What Bull!
For being a woman of colour she sure has a lot of self hate or at least that's what I gathered many years ago. And just because you're a woman of colour doesn't escape your behaviour. You don't get a free pass.
So she cast one show with women of colour; here's a cookie Maida. And no one wants to see a gimmicky show with ALL BLACK models, ALL MIXED-RACE models, ALL ASIAN models or the all to common ALL WHITE models. We want to see a nice balanced show so we can focus on the collection.

And let's be honest if there wasn't so much scrutiny about casting underage models or NOT casting women of colour they would still be doing the same thing.

Maida and Rami are known in the industry for casting all white cast. Booking little to no women of colour. Just by simply going to vogue.com and looking at the shows they've cast over the years says a lot.
Here at the tfs we have known and complained for YEARS. There are also some designers and stylist who are guilty as-well. I'm glad to see Raf Simons has changed.

 

[Lola701]

Her "i'm a woman of color" part is so wrong. So i guess, Azzedine Alaia required to have those whitewashed casts?
I would love for someone to do an interview with him because i have a hard time to understand how he let her have that much power...

 

[StoneSkipper]

Lol. There's Maida, patting herself on the back for her inclusionism, speaking for Rami and without him, and trying to pin the blame on literally everyone else. On the other side, there's hundreds of actual models, female and male, seasoned and new, who've been thanking Scully for outing them and recounting them experiences in their castings, some of which were present at that very day. Who do you think I'm gonna believe, Maida?

She is right about one thing, though, and it's exactly how Creative states it: how the f*ck do you not know about 150 girls being stuck in a stairwell without light, water or food for god knows how many hours in your casting process? I don't buy it for a second. If they really didn't know, then that's no excuse for their lack of involvement in the casting process. I also find it very telling that they sent their apology letters to their agencies, instead of personally. I have to wonder if some of them wil ever get so much as a fleeting glimpse at that letter... If these agencies, agents and bookers knew all about this, they why did they keep sending them to these castings? As Scully states, "God forbid we'll sacrifice anything for an exclusive".

Also, I'm more than a little grossed out by the fact that Prabal Gurung's ~statement~ show was cast by Maida. So much for equal rights and fighting for liberation and all...

 

[sixtdaily]

And from a Creative Director with such a non-white name?! Bizarre.

She's Moroccan, and racism between Arabs and black people is actually very common. Also, major eyeroll at Maida, the "i am a woman of color myself" is such a poor excuse.

 

[Creative]

Maida and Rami are just the "scapegoat". The brand itself and the Creative Director are more responsible for the castings and the process than the Casting Directors themselves. Designers always overviews the casting, and when it's done the CD says what she likes or doesn't like about it, she has the final saying, sometimes she even says if she would like a certain girl to open or close...

Maybe they got what they diserve, but Balenciaga goes scot-free...

 

[Sensation]

Edie Campbell:

"It’s also probably not the most shocking example I’ve heard,” Campbell said. “I’ve been incredibly lucky. I have – by luck and by good management – made it to the top one per cent who manage to have a voice and agency over their own careers. But I have witnessed a lot of upsetting things. I’ve seen girls be told to run laps around the studio. It’s a cattle market. The problem with fashion is that it is a very informal industry. Boundaries are crossed and it allows people to behave in ways that would not ever be accepted in any other ‘work’ environment. It is also a closed system. If you speak out, you are faced with the very real threat of never working again. And that is why what James is doing is so unbelievably brave and should be applauded.”

vogue.co.uk

Peter Damgaard, founder of the 2pm modeling agency in Copenhagen, is another critic — although he added that such behavior was widespread.

“This has been going on for a long time, but no one says anything because the power is in their hands to make or break a girl. When agents try to set conditions, we’ve been met with the attitude of, ‘You play the game or you don’t, that’s how it is,’” he said.

wwd.com

 

[vanpersie]

Maida and Rami are just the "scapegoat". The brand itself and the Creative Director are more responsible for the castings and the process than the Casting Directors themselves. Designers always overviews the casting, and when it's done the CD says what she likes or doesn't like about it, she has the final saying, sometimes she even says if she would like a certain girl to open or close...

Maybe they got what they diserve, but Balenciaga goes scot-free...

Since it also happens at the shows they cast in NY and Milan I doubt that they are just the scapegoat. From what i've heard they had it coming. But they are certainly not the only one who abusing their power. There are much more high profile names that don't get called out in their position because of their status and title in the fashion industry.

On his insta models response.
Let me be clear that from some models it's unclear which show and who was the castingdirector.

marmenakis; Hit the nail on the head, I remember years ago for the Jil Sander casting meida and ramy would call you there for 15:00 let's say and immediately go to lunch for three hours, it was widely known about but not spoken of because everyone wants the chance for an exclusive or just to walk for such a prestigious brand. They have the power to make models (which they do of course) but abuse that right by treating others as if they are below them. Very glad they have been exposed, along with others of course. As you can see I clearly didn't get the chance to walk for Jil Sander

geniapotapenko; Thank you James for making that loud! As an ex-model who went to her castings lots of time I confirm that Maida got in return what she really deserves.

instagwen_; Thank you so much for speaking up. As a young model, it gives me a lot of hope to know that there is someone like you fighting for better treatment of models I once in Milan waited at a casting for almost 4 hours in the hot sun with no water available and after that happened I said to myself I would never do that again. But it seemed like a lot of the models were afraid to say anything

bregjeheinen; I think every model has a fashionweek story similar to this, bravo

[QOUTE]milanabogolepova; @jamespscully#truth*finally someone says it[/QUOTE]

misteraeleeBravo!!! This happened so many times in my experience with horrible casting people during the shows. Valentino was an especially miserable ****er to models in the 90's. Happy to have you give voice to those that can not.❤️

About Jess Hallett

bbttisnn; In 2015 I was booked for Alexander McQueen, for their rehearsal. At that time I didn’t know what it was but my agent was really pushing me for it. He said that Jess Hallett the casting director would know me better and i will get more chance to be booked for a real show. So i went anyway. The place was very empty, few makeup artists arrived, the beautiful gowns were coming in slowly. On that day there were about six of us. We were asked to put on those mcqueen high heels and we kept walking in rounds like horses with the show music so that they can calculate the timing and know better about the pace. Sometimes we have to run because they weren’t enough of us and each one walked the big ‘O’ runway about six times. It was sick. Everyone was very exhausted but we had to do it again without a real break because Sarah Burton the designer was coming for final check. We went for it again. But my legs were so sore and my ankles felt very weak so i started tripping several times before the last round. Finally on my last round i fell completely towards with my hands and knees on the ground and i see the designer sitting right in front of me, very classy, with the others standing behind her. No one had any emotions on their face. I stood up quickly but before i get to the end i kneeled down probably two or three more times. No one actually blamed me but i can see in the way they look at me that they weren’t pleased at all of my behaviour out there. I don’t remember what i was feeling at that moment. But when i went back to the backstage i couldn't stop crying for a long time. I felt so much more ashamed than embarrassed and i felt really hurt. No one reached out their hand to me except one model asked me if im ok. i said yes, smiled to her and stopped crying. On our way out, i saw models coming in already for makeup. I looked at them and i remembered asking myself what do they have that i don’t and why is it so cruel that we were in their shoes but not us who went on the show. I stopped modelling slowly after this and decide that I am not made for this. When people asked me why i stop modelling, i always tell them i simply don't like it or im too old for this. Today is the first time im telling this story. I took my time crying and then started to write these words. I think everyone was just doing their job and i am probably not professional enough or havent been to the gym often and get physically strong enough for the job i was asked for. Nobody was wrong. I shouldn’t feel bad about myself neither, it just just one day during fashion week like the others. It was just work, nothing personal. I used to blame some of them but not anymore. There were no bad people. It happens when sometimes people forget to be nice. Being careless. I saw my dream broken and confidence down on that day but hope for the best dreams for girls who are still dreaming. Good luck and enjoy your journey.

 

[vanpersie]

I'm very curious about her story;

constancejablonski

@jamespscully*waw... no words !!!! I will follow you and share my story too ❤

 

[gossiping]

i'm so, so glad these stories come out. the truth has to be heard.

 

[dsamg]

^ Lol


All I get from that ~response~ is that Ms. Maida's inner mean girl just can't help but seethe through despite all the babble of ~equality and fair treatment~.

When you had models like Alana Zimmer liking that post, well known as one of the friendliest and most easygoing girls in the industry, in addition to models like Vittoria liking it, I know who I believe. It was fantastic to see so many current top models liking the post as there was a time when their agency would have told them not to.

 

[dsamg]

What Bull!
For being a woman of colour she sure has a lot of self hate or at least that's what I gathered many years ago. And just because you're a woman of colour doesn't escape your behaviour. You don't get a free pass.
So she cast one show with women of colour; here's a cookie Maida. And no one wants to see a gimmicky show with ALL BLACK models, ALL MIXED-RACE models, ALL ASIAN models or the all to common ALL WHITE models. We want to see a nice balanced show so we can focus on the collection.

And let's be honest if there wasn't so much scrutiny about casting underage models or NOT casting women of colour they would still be doing the same thing.

Maida and Rami are known in the industry for casting all white cast. Booking little to no women of colour. Just by simply going to vogue.com and looking at the shows they've cast over the years says a lot.
Here at the tfs we have known and complained for YEARS. There are also some designers and stylist who are guilty as-well. I'm glad to see Raf Simons has changed.

Exactly! Her response was the equivalent of 'I'm not racist because I have a black friend.' 'Umm excuse me, I am not racist because once I casted a show with black models.' Congratulations Maida! A true pioneer for diversity in the industry.

 

[dsamg]

I feel so sad for the poor young girls and I think this story highlights people's issues with nepotism models vs models who have to make their way up from the bottom. It should be an example to people who think 'Gigi, Bella and Kendall made it into the industry by working hard.' When Bregje says that every model has a story like this, I think we all know that those three sure do not, and pretending to the world that they are just regular models ensures that the public doesn't know what models actually go through.

 

[Runabout]

I feel so sad for the poor young girls and I think this story highlights people's issues with nepotism models vs models who have to make their way up from the bottom. It should be an example to people who think 'Gigi, Bella and Kendall made it into the industry by working hard.' When Bregje says that every model has a story like this, I think we all know that those three sure do not, and pretending to the world that they are just regular models ensures that the public doesn't know what models actually go through.

And somehow, if I may add, all fashion figures (the TPTB that is) are playing their favoritism card towards those three. I mean, how much headlines they get?

 

[thatsfierce]

This shouldn't surprise me, but reading all these comments and stories it makes more realistic. The fashion world sucks, there's no doubt, and those who really dreams to be there are just treating like sh*t and that need to stop!!
I understand there's powerful people inside who can "make or break a girl", but this world needs more James Scullys to speak out and say the true!
These girls don't deserve that treat, it is enough to feel rejected if you don't fit a brand or a collection, etc. It's time to speak and stop racism, discrimination and the bullys. I cannot wait to read another testimony.

 

[sixtdaily]

I'm very curious about her story;

constancejablonski

She posted about it on her IG the other day, it's about that topic we cannot mention here... Link to the post x (the caption is in French, but I've just checked how google translates it and it seems understandable )

 

[mathiaskatz]

Anonymous model on Jennifer Starr:

 

[modellove]

If you're a casting director how do you not know how many girls are showing up? Aren't you the one selecting the girls to come to the castings?! Either way it's disgusting how they forget they're humans as well. You could at least do the bare minimum and look at their books, even if you aren't interested.

 

[Deleted member 130879]

If you're a casting director how do you not know how many girls are showing up? Aren't you the one selecting the girls to come to the castings?! Either way it's disgusting how they forget they're humans as well. You could at least do the bare minimum and look at their books, even if you aren't interested.

Or pre-selected the girls. It isn't that difficult. I had some privileged insight on how castings work on a smaller scale while working at an agency for 2 months. It's all about not giving a damn about the girls. Casting directors send their "guidelines" and then bookers send them all the girls they think to be closer to what they want. But since bookers really want one of their girls to get the job they end up sending more girls that what's supposed, sometimes forcing them to the casting - "hey I know she is different but you really need to see her". And since most casting directors couldn't give a flying f*** about anyone, they just say "whatever" and let the girls in. Pre selecting the girls via web (book/polaroids) isn't that hard.

If bookers weren't as greedy and casting directors decided to do their job properly, casting numbers would be reduced to at least 50%.

 

[sore]

MDC is covering the topic / the Scully incident and its implications at the moment. They did some sort of survey asking how models feel they should be treated. Many models answered anonymously, others like Jay Wright and Fernanda Ly agreed to be quoted with names.

One example:

I was at that Balenciaga casting that has brought up the recent conversations, and it definitely wasn’t nice, but I didn’t think it was that exceptionally bad because it’s a fact that it’s pretty normal to wait for a very long time for bigger brands. For the first big show I walked, I waited about 17 hours for the fitting. I had an extremely bad experience with my first agency, which I left last year in autumn after having an awful season. My first “big thing” was having an exclusive during Fall/Winter 2016 for one of the biggest brands, and I started to work a little after that while still being in school. My mother agency is a small boutique agency in Germany, only having 5 working girls or so, but the person who runs it has very good relationships with some of the biggest casting directors and agencies that he signs his girls with. After working off my debt that my foreign agency had built up, many times without asking me before making unnecessary high expenses, I started to earn a bit money. Even four to five months [after signing], I didn’t get paid, hearing things like “you need to trust me” and “you are going to make so much money one day” from my mother agent while being completely broke, living between agency pocket money and my parents; I became suspicious. My agency in London that I was mainly making money with knew that my mother agency was doing this and I eventually got my money from them, but that was 6 months after earning it.

I wonder who this is and which agency she's talking about.
There are many more on MDC.

 

[sixtdaily]

^ I wonder if maybe this one is Sandra Martens? I know she was at the Balenciaga casting this season and according to the comments she left on IG she has been a bit traumatized by it; she's German and debuted during FW16 with a Jil Sander exclusive.