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Proenza Schouler Wants to Cast Models With ‘Life Experience’ for Their Spring Show

Expect to see two types of models on the spring 2011 runways: sexy Lindsey Wixson Lolita types and — wait for it — lanky androgynous girls. Top casting agents tell Cathy Horyn that troops of blank-faced girls are out, and girls with personalities and some curves (though they will still be thin) are in.

Ms. Brokaw and Ms. Gregori-Boina say that clients want models with sensuality plus personality. “I think people are looking for muses, for more than a face and a body,” Ms. Brokaw said. Recalling a meeting recently with the Proenza designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, she said they told her they wanted to see girls with some life experience; maybe they’ve had a boyfriend or traveled a bit. “Things are steering away from the army casting we’ve seen in recent years.”


It’s hard to imagine how much that will show on the runway. “Oh, that girl — she was totally just dumped.” Maybe designers want to feel like they can hang with their crew backstage instead of having robots they don’t want to have speak.

Fashion Week Preview: The Faces [On the Runway/NYT]

Proenza Schouler Wants to Cast Models With ‘Life Experience’ for Their Spring Show