Recently I met up with an old school friend called Alice Cooper, I knew her as the girl who performed at her mum’s local theatre company, however many know her now as a successful model, working for some of the most prestigious brands in the business. Her work can be seen on her Instagram page: @alice.cooper2004

 

She was scouted at a dance convention when she was only 14 years old and has been with her agency, Select Model Management, ever since. Now she’s 17  and in her second year of sixth form whilst also balancing her growing career as a model.

 

There are a lot of different categories of modelling work which, like me, I’m sure not everyone is familiar with, so let me give you a quick fire round of the most common types:

-High fashion, this is the runway shows.

-Commercial, this is more high street.

-Lookbooks, these are catalogues of photos of the outfits from shows but the models are in straight, neutral poses.

-Campaigns, these are promotional photographs and adverts for the fashion shows.

 

“I LOVE THE FACT THAT YOU CAN BECOME A DIFFERENT PERSON AND THAT PEOPLE CAN SEE YOU IN A DIFFERENT WAY.”

 

One of the questions I’m most curious to ask is about whether the modelling industry is as brutal as it seems, with horror stories from past models coming out left, right and centre. She pauses for a second, thinking, and then replies “It’s not as glamorous as people think. There’s a lot of rejection, but it’s nothing personal, they’re just looking for a different look and your agency is there to help you as much as possible.”

 

“IT’S INTRODUCED ME TO A COMPLETELY NEW WORLD AND INDUSTRY THAT I’VE NEVER KNOWN ABOUT BEFORE.”

 

When discussing her recent work, she reveals that she recently went to fashion week, which was for Spring/Summer 2022, first going to London, then to Milan and afterwards Paris. “It’s a real cultural experience because you meet people from everywhere, which is amazing because I wouldn’t have necessarily visited those places but they’re [the models] all together in one room so you can learn so many things from people about their culture.”

 

So does this jet setter ever get nerves? Yes. But she’s learnt ways to deal with them. “Having a focus point ahead so you’re not distracted by what the audience are doing and how they’re reacting, and the whole persona of the outfit and the character that you’re putting across helps with nerves, because they [the audience] can’t see how you actually feel.”

 

Think you have what it takes to be a model? Then send your details to selectmodel.com, to Alice’s agent, whose email address is danielle@selectmodel.com. You can also use the Instagram hashtag #scoutmeselect under your photos to get discovered. Make sure the photos of yourself are natural and without makeup. Who knows, maybe you’ll be at the next fashion week.