Omaha Fashion Week will hold it’s next child model castings in June for its fall catwalk shows.
The lineup:
June 3: Children ages 12 and older — location to be announced.
June 10: Children 12 and younger — Xtreme Dance, 11231 John Galt Blvd.
June 17: Children ages 12 and older — location to be announced.
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Let’s face it, all kids are cute so what makes a great child model?
After Omaha Fashion Week wrapped up two weeks ago, we asked local fashion experts what they look for in a child model.
The following 5 characteristics are what these fashion experts look for when interviewing potential child models:
Alyssa Dilts, director of Develop Model Management
1. PERSONALITY! – a child model must be outgoing and fun to be around; they cannot hide behind a parent’s leg. And, although they might do the best model walk or commercial read at home in your living room, it’s a whole different world when they get in front of an audience or even another adult that is holding a casting. They must be able to hold a conversation with a client when asked questions.
2. Patience – there is a lot of waiting around in modeling. A child must be able to sit quietly for sometimes hours without running around and being disruptive. If they can’t sit still at a restaurant or at church – they are more than likely not going to be able to sit still on set.
3. Active listening skills – a child model is expected to listen and understand what the client is asking of them. If they are told to move to the left 2 inches they need to know what that means and do it.
4. Respect – being nice and saying please, thank you, yes sir, yes ma’am go a very long way in this business…it’s the little things that make all the difference.
5. Focus – although they are just children, they are being paid to work as a model so they must stay focused when they are working. If they have a short attention span it is difficult to get the work done that is needed.
Bottom line is that every kid is cute – so if your child wants to model they need to hold a combination of the characteristics above in order to be successful.
An agent’s job is to get your child in the door to the clients, the model’s job is to do a great job on that booking so that they get asked back for another.
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Hollie Hanash of Ruffled Runway
1. A confident child. They don’t have to be perfect on stage, just have the confidence to walk out in front of a room full of people staring back at you. (There is nothing worse as spending tons of time creating an outfit and then not have it shown on the runway.)
2. Parents that are responsible. As a designer it is imperative that models be on time for fittings, rehearsals and prepared for the show. These responsibilities fall on the parents.
3. Keep an open mind. The outfit your child may be asked to model might not be your favorite outfit. But remember your child doesn’t have to wear it off the runway.
4. I look for something unique in each of my models. Whether is is curly hair, missing front teeth or petite frame. Each collection has a different feel, and that helps me decide who to cast.
5. I know this might sound harsh, but I also look at the parents. If you attend a casting and are really impatient or rude, I will probably pass on your child. We will need to work cohesively as a group to have a successful show.
Another thing to consider is the cost. Some parents do not realize that they will need to provide shoes, pay for photos, buy tickets to watch the event or even small things like tipping the stylist.
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Brook Hudson, producer of Omaha Fashion Week and founder of La Fleur Academy, a finishing school.
1. Independence – Is the child able to audition without a parent’s intervention?
2. Coachability – Is the child able to focus, listen and take instruction? Will the family support the child by encouraging practice leading up to the show?
3. Personality – Does the child show personality?
4. Confidence – Does the child smile and make eye contact?
5. Interest – Does the child genuinely want to model?
Click here to read “So you think your child can model?”
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