Well it has been a really busy few days here at the Canadian Model and Talent Convention, or CMTC. This is a very classy, premier event for developing the careers of aspiring models and talent here in Canada. If you live in the Toronto area or can get here, I strongly urge you to consider becoming a part of this event next time around.

Yesterday (Friday) I had the pleasure of addressing a couple of hundred of the attendees in a talk I gave all about the modeling markets of the world. From the feedback I received I think the talk went very well. I was happy to be able to pass on some important information to the aspiring models in the audience.

I’ve met some quite interesting models, and at least several that are potentially right for our Paris market. As I talked about at length yesterday, it’s important for models to figure out what markets best suit their unique attributes and pursue those markets.

Not everyone is right for Paris, but it’s a big world out there and there are markets that are probably right for you. Again, figure out what they are and go after them. Don’t waste time on markets that are not right for you as you will quickly get frustrated. It’s so much nicer to be on the right place for you!

Speaking of markets, I’m excited to be working on a new product that will deal with exploring many of the world’s best model markets. I won’t get into it here today except to say that I’ll be calling upon my agent friends and colleagues from around the world to supply their expertise. When I do announce this in more detail I think you’ll be very glad to see just what a valuable resource this is.  Stay tuned.

Well here it is Saturday already and we’re down to just the last few hours of the event. I’m busy right to the very end with call backs and meetings. In fact I need to finish this post now as I’m due back downstairs in a few minutes.

Kim

I just want to say thank you to each of you who has been a part of our life here at Inner Modeling this year, whether as a newsletter subscriber, a customer, or someone who has contacted me regarding some aspect of modeling.

It’s Christmas Eve as I write this here in Paris. I wish you a joyous holiday season and hope to get to know you better in 2010.

Best,

Kim Luret

The last time I wrote I’d just come back to Paris after a very long scouting trip to Canada and the U.S.  Two days later I was boarding the Eurostar on my way to London–but this time for some R & R (rest and recreation).  I was attending a Millionaire Mind Intensive (MMI) seminar,  a 3-day event hosted in person by T. Harv Eker.    (www.harveker.com)

It turned out to be neither restful nor recreational.  The MMI would begin as early as 8 a.m. and finish as late as 11 p.m.  But it was truly fascinating and very educational.  And boy, does that man have energy!!

I got back to Paris yesterday and I’ve spent the entire day today going over my scouting with the booking table., showing them the videos and snapshots of all the models I met over those 2 weeks.  Then I discuss with the bookers which girls we will select and why.  That process alone took half the day.  It was a successful trip in that the bookers requested about a half dozen models from among the 25 or so that I showed them.

The next phase of the scouting trip follow-up was begun during the second half of the day:  contacting the mother agencies to confirm whom we like and request not only to represent the models, but to get them over to Paris to work.  As the OK’s come in from the mother agencies, I’ll keep you abreast of which models we’ll be taking on via links to the mother agencies’ websites.

I hope to have some positive replies tomorrow…I’ll keep you posted!

Kim

I finally made it back to Paris today.   This one seemed like a very long trip–even longer than the actual two weeks it was.

Probably because it was so busy and I covered a lot of territory.  I  saw many, many models, took in several fashion shows and flitted between temperatue zones of -20 to + 75.  Lots to share and tell you about!

The only trouble is,  jet lag’s curled around me like a mink stole made of sand bags.

So please excuse me if I just say ‘Bonjour!’ for now.  It’s great to be back and I’ll be filling you in on all I saw and did over the next few days.

A bientôt!

Kim

That may be, but it sure does get a lot of people to sit up and take notice.

I’m off tomorrow to Toronto where they’ll be holding their own Fashion Week.  Given their sub-zero temperatures, surviving that one is a more delicate matter.   It should be fun though.     You can see the schedule of events at www.lgfashionweek.ca

And next weekend, I’ll be at the Miami Fashion Week, so I’ll have a chance to thaw.  Check out the happenings on www.miamifashionweek.com

I’ll let you know how it goes!

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!

We enjoy working with Danish models. As a rule, they’ve got striking, ‘healthy’ good looks and also a very fresh and healthy attitude about them. Positive and easy-going for the most part.

That’s why I was surprised the other day talking to one of the agents in Aarhus. I asked her about Nina–a new model I’d met a year ago during my last trip there. Nina was very beautiful, in a style reminiscent of the painter “Raphael”. And like the subject of a Raphael masterpiece, Nina was also a little full-figured; too much for the market in Paris.

Nina hadn’t really done any modeling to speak of when I met her–she was a college student. In talking with her she said that she didn’t know if she wanted to commit to modeling or not. I told her to think about it–if it’s something she wanted to do it could be fantastic. If she didn’t really want to but made herself do it, it would be miserable. I also told her that to work in Paris she would need to lose a little weight, but that it should be done in a healthy and gradual way. She said she would give serious thought to what she really wanted.

It took several months but her agent did e-mail to say that Nina had lost the weight and would be ready and willing to come to Paris now to model. She sent the mail to one of the bookers rather than to me; I was on a scouting trip at the time so only heard about it when I got back.

The snapshots the agent sent were not particularly flattering and as a result, the booking said no, they didn’t think she would be right for us. But I’ve seen Nina in person and knew she could look better. So before leaving for Denmark I e-mailed the agent asking for her to arrange for me to meet with Nina in person when I came in for the casting to see other models. I wanted to videotape her and take my own snapshots and then present her to the booking. I was pretty confident they would choose her after that.

The day I arrived I saw several models, but no Nina. After thanking and saying good bye to the last model, I asked the agent where she was. She told me, “Well, Nina decided not to come, actually. She was very upset about the bookers’ response to her and said she didn’t want to come in to see you.”

As I said, I was more than a little surprised by this. It sounded like she was pouting. But then I realised that this was acutally a blessing in disguise–not only for me and the agency but above all for Nina. For it spoke volumes about what Nina really wanted and was willing to strive for. She had made the effort to lose the weight, but at the first rebuff, Nina caved in and gave up.

I told the agent in Denmark that if Nina was that miffed by this one ‘no’ from our bookers, then modeling is definitely not the business for her. To be a successful model you must be able to withstand hearing ‘no’ day after day until you finally get to a ‘yes’. It’s totally a numbers game and I talk about this at length in my home study course “The Secret in Modeling”. Understanding this concept will give a model the long view and staying power she needs to make it in this business.

This is an excerpt from Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Everybody’s Free (to Wear Sunscreen)’. I was reminded of this poem/song as I left the agency for the day.

My workday began in the lobby of the building, actually. As I was turning in to the entrance, one of our models, “Daphne” (not her real name), was coming out. This is an incredibly beautiful French girl whom I spotted from my car as she was walking down the street one evening. She was not a model at the time, she was a college student. And truth be told, she was a bit ‘rough around the edges’ in her style but I saw something very striking in her.

It turned out I was right in a big way. She’s a natural–striking poses with an ease and grace to put some veterans to shame. I asked her how she knew to pose like that–from her very first test. She said that she’s a fan of silent movies and believes that helped. Whatever it is, it’s working. She’s also incredibly photogenic. So, an extremely winning combination.

She looked fantastic and was off to some castings for the upcoming Collections here in Paris (March 5 – 12). I said, ‘Great! Go get ‘em!’ She said, ‘Yes, but I’m so tall, it’s difficult.’ (She’s 6′1″.) I realised then that she doesn’t realise how fabulous she really is.

I told her, ‘Daphne, you’re not too tall–you’re very tall. There’s a difference. Too tall is a problem. Very tall is an asset. It’s up to you to project that to the clients so that they see it as an asset. But to do that, you have to first see it that way yourself or it will never come across as believable.’ She seemed to get it and left encouraged. I hope so and I hope it lasts.

At the end of the day, another extremely beautiful model came in, this one from Serbia. We’ll call her Malvina. She has everything going for her. I wouldn’t change a thing on her–except, again, the way she sees herself.

The bookers asked her how her castings for the Collections went today. She said, “Well, I dunno. I was sitting in the waiting room and there were so many beautiful girls there, with great books I’m sure. I wondered, “What am I doing here…?”

Egads Malvina! You might as well wear a sandwich board saying “Don’t book me”!

Models, how often do I have to tell you that to compare yourself with anyone else is a losing proposition? What will it take for you to believe me when I say that people will believe about you what you believe about yourself–whether for good or for bad?

What stops these two beautiful girls, blessed with so many gifts, from seeing their true beauty and potential?

I’m afraid for them that Baz Luhrmann’s words will ring true: “Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.”

What a horrific waste that would be to look back one day, when it’s too late and realise–’I was pretty amazing and I didn’t even know it!’

Now the interesting thing here is that this applies to all of us, model or not. So many of us, probably most of us, tend to focus only on what’s ‘not right’, what we don’t have, what we didn’t do. What if we focused on all that is right with us, what we do have, what we have done and still can do?

What if we lived our life as if it was an asset and not a problem?

And more importantly, how does this have anything to do with modeling? Bear with me here…

Odysseus’ plan was clever in design and simple in execution. He instructed his crew to first plug their ears with beeswax and once that was done, to tie him securely to the mast.

His orders were strict–the sailors were not to remove the wax from their ears, nor respond to him in any way until the ship had safely passed the island of the Sirens. Should he shout or plea, they were to ignore him. If he tried to free himself from the mast, they were to bind him more tightly to it.

As the ship approached the island of the Sirens, all the men began filling their ears with wax. All but Odysseus. He placed himself in front of the mast while his crew began lashing the ropes about him. They then pulled the ropes as tightly as possible before knotting and re-knotting the ends.

As they got within earshot of the Sirens, Odysseus become as a man possessed. He had never heard anything so alluring or beautiful. He was utterly captivated and began fighting against the ropes, shouting impassioned orders for the crew to turn the ship towards the island.

Unable to hear his commands, the sailors ignored him. They hunched over their oars and rowed with a fury. At one point, Odysseus seemed to be making progress in freeing himself from the mast and a few strong men jumped up and lashed him even tighter.

This infuriated Odysseus–he threatened execution to all who disobeyed his orders to free him at once and turn the ship around.

But the sailors neither heard him nor cared. They had made an agreement in advance to report to and obey the real Odysseus, not this inflamed creature who’d gone temporarily mad. Their orders came from truth and reason, not from a lie and insanity. And by sticking to their pre-planned agreement, captain and crew got out alive.

Once they’d made a safe distance from that dangerous place, the sailors removed the beeswax from their ears and untied their captain. No longer within earshot of the Sirens, Odysseus was himself again. And he thanked his crew for staying true to the orders from his real self.

I don’t know about you, but I recognize a very valuable lesson in that story. And it is this: We all have to go through narrow straits and get past ‘Siren’s’ at times. But the Sirens in our lives reside in our minds–they’re feelings of doubt or depression. They’re the thoughts of failure and fear. It can be that voice in our head telling us we’re not good enough or that our plans will never work out. There are a million and one things that could be beckoning to us, drawing us in. If it’s a ‘weak day’ for us, we might just lose our reason and start to believe them…

I know that for a model this is a constant threat. There’s so much potential in the industry for self-doubt and comparison with others that a big part of a model’s work is just to keep his or her head on straight.

So, the techniqe I was telling you about is what I call ‘tying myself to the mast’. Whether I see a bad mood or mindset creeping up on me like a fog or it comes upon me unawares, as soon as I am conscious of it I use my technique.

First, I recognize what is happening. An example might be, “Ok, I’m feeling really disappointed about that particular situation. This is a lousy feeling right now, everything looks dark and I don’t like it.”

Then I speak to my reasoning self: “I’m going to have to tie myself to the mast here.”
Which means that I make a pre-arranged agreement with myself to act as the sailors with the beeswax in their ears. I know what’s coming, some ‘rough seas’ ahead. But I also know that it won’t last. So I mentally see myself being lashed to the mast and whenever negative thoughts thunder through my mind I simply remind myself that they are only temporary and I don’t need to lend them any credence. As with the sailors in the Odyssey, I simply will not obey orders to go to the rocks (to panic, despair, give up) from an insane captain tied to a mast. Once I ride it out, I’ll be in calm waters again and back to my old self.

Try this technique for yourself and see if it doesn’t give you a better perspective on things the next time the Sirens start to sing…

Warmest,

Kim

In his words, “It was one of my weak days.”

I knew what he was talking about.  We all have days or situations where, for whatever reason, we’re ‘weak’.  A cloud settles over us and things look bleak.  Blame it on the moon, our biorythms or the bossanova for that matter–who knows?   But whatever it is, we’re not doing our best thinking at those times and as a result we suffer.  We fall prey to all kinds of negative thoughts and moods.  And as long as we’re in the middle of this fog, we think it’s reality and the way things will always be.

This is something that models can easily fall prey to.  As wonderful as modeling is, it can be just as difficult to mentally resist the pulls and pressures of the job.

I’ve certainly known that feeling as a model and once in a while it will still have its way with me.  But I’ve come to recognize it for what it is–a temporary funk which will ride itself out.

I’m familiar enough by now with this state of mind that I can see it ambling towards me from afar.  Other times it settles on me like a shroud out of nowhere.  I realize that there’s probably little I can do to avoid it, but I can know in advance that it won’t last forever and is by no means an accurate reflection of reality.

I’ve developed a technique for dealing with this that I’ve found extremely helpful.  And as with so many things, we have the ancient Greeks to thank.

I came upon this method when in high school, where at the time we were studying Homer’s Odyssey.  If you remember anything about Greek mythology, you’ll remember that the hero, Odysseus, was making his long way home to Ithaca after the Trojan war.  Talk about a road trip–the whole thing took him ten years and through many perilous ordeals.

One of those ordeals involved getting his ship and men safely through a strait, past the infamous Sirens on the nearby shore.  For these Sirens were deadly; they were known to sailors everywhere for their beautiful and irresistible voices.  They claimed in their song to have perfect hindsight and foresight and as such, anyone who listens to them will know all things past and future.  But for the hapless captain who gives in to temptation, he will have no choice but to turn the ship to shore to follow that song– invariably destroying both ship and crew on the rocks.

On his journey homeward, Odysseus was coming upon that dangerous passage. He knew he had to get the boat and his men safely through it.  But he also wanted to know firsthand what that most irresistible of  sounds was like.  He wanted to hear that siren song.  So he devised an ingenious plan…