KEY POINTS:
Being "discovered" is the sort of thing almost everyone has fantasised about at least once. Rugby players hope the coach of the All Blacks will notice them during the club finals, musicians wish the head of EMI would hear them down the local pub, and amateur actors want Peter Jackson to accidentally stumble upon them emoting in some church hall. And there are several fashion industry equivalents that come to mind - Project Runway and America's Next Top Model not the least exciting among them.
But possibly the most realistic process is what's known as "street casting" or model scouting. That is, casting the talent for a photo shoot by simply going down to the street and picking out a suitable face, pretty or otherwise.
And the reason why this is the most realistic way of being discovered is because, unlike Project Runway-style fashion incubators or Peter Jackson-budgeted epics, street casting, or scouting for prospective models, actually happens in New Zealand on a regular basis.
One of model agent Andrea Plowright's biggest scouting success stories involves a pretty French backpacker. Plowright was on lunch when she spotted Sandrine Marlier, who was travelling through New Zealand with her British boyfriend, wandering along K Rd.
"Yes, it was that glamorous!" jokes Plowright, head booker for 62 Models and Talent.
"Sandrine was 23 [which is quite old to start modelling] and if she had gone into an agency in Europe they probably would have thought she was too old. But she got a great start here with us," says Plowright, "and the next time I went to London I saw her on billboards all over the place." Marlier now models full time in New York.
And there are other examples. There's a model on the books at local agency Red Eleven, called Angelina Sanders. But at one stage she was known only as the "bus-stop girl".
Staff working at the agency had often seen her standing at the bus-stop and remarked to one another that she would make a good model. "So one day when we knew she was waiting at the bus-stop, I raced down to ask her if she'd like to try modelling," explains Amanda Betts, co-owner of Red Eleven.
It took a little persuasion - the would-be model was on her way to university - but she agreed. And although Sanders has yet to become a supermodel, she's certainly managed to get a bit of local work.
Other successful New Zealand models got their start in similarly random ways. Popular local Penny Pickard was first spotted by the art director of a local magazine, and Ngahuia Williams, another oft-employed local model who's now working in New York, was first directed into modelling by a friend at a family barbecue. Zippora Seven, who recently did a photo shoot for French Vogue, was scouted by the wife of a local fashion retailer at her school fair. Recently the same woman spotted another up-and-coming model, Samantha Shorter.
All of which is why street casting or scouting is common among local agency staff.
"We're always looking," agrees Plowright. "I've found good models at parties, walking on Queen St, at Sylvia Park, and even at the Big Day Out," she says. "I've even been driving along in the car, seen someone and pulled over," she laughs.
The staff who've had success through street casting say that after a few goes, they no longer feel awkward about approaching good-looking strangers on the street. In fact the hardest thing, they all say, is when your target is surrounded by all their friends, some of whom may not have the same photogenic potential.
Apart from the fact street casting can be competitive at times, with different agencies all on the lookout for the next star, there's nothing wrong with it.
"Because sometimes attractive people are hesitant about visiting a model agency anyway," says Lisa Williams, director of Vanity Walk, another agency that specialises in grooming courses and where one of the country's up-and-coming models, Katie B, is contracted.
"For instance, they might have the wrong idea about them [modelling agencies]. Even if someone has told them they should model, they might be shy. So if they are approached, this can give them the confidence to at least come in for a meeting."
So does all this mean that if you stand on a certain street corner or at a certain bus-stop when some model agent is driving by, you will finally be "discovered"? It's hard to say.
Most of the agents Viva spoke with say that, when deliberately out looking for new faces, they prefer to go where those faces are - in fact, they'll often head down to a local mall on a late-night shopping expedition. "Because that's where all the young girls go to hang out," reveals Betts.
Street casting can be totally accidental - the model agent or fashion industry insider simply runs into a potential model anywhere, anytime.
"Recently we signed a girl from Taranaki, Marijke Van Dillen, who was spotted while she was on holiday with her family in Fiji," Plowright notes. "An affiliate from an Australian agency that 62 [Models] is connected with, saw her there and suggested she contact us."
And Levi Clark, a 15-year-old male model from Birkdale, scored surprisingly big with a worldwide advertising campaign for British store Topman, when he was spotted on a London street while on holiday in Britain with his family.
Or sometimes street casting can be quite deliberate - for instance, a certain kind of look may be required by the client, advertiser or magazine. Which means that although fashion models tend to be tall, naturally thin and usually in their teens, this doesn't preclude more ordinary looking and older individuals from being stopped in the street by an agent.
"Sometimes we might need a 50-year-old man. Or a young mother," Betts explains. And when that need arises, the agent will often go somewhere specific where young mothers or older men roam - like shopping precincts or pubs.
And if overseas stories are anything to go by, there has been even more desire for "ordinary" looking individuals - that is, real people that the general public can relate to better, being paid to appear in campaigns like Dove soap's "Real Beauty".
Thanks to MySpace, YouTube and reality TV shows, Mr and Mrs Bloggs from down the road are the folks that viewers relate to best. Authentic rather than unattainably beautiful.
Having said all that, though, if you are determined to be discovered, then you won't go too far wrong hanging around Ponsonby Rd or the arty end of K Rd. At least four model agencies are located in this neighbourhood, and if you pout nicely while the staff are out fetching coffee or lunch, hey, you just never know your luck.
AND IF YOU'RE SPOTTED
* Take a business card from the talent-spotter. Check out their website to get an idea of what sort of agency they are. Do the models have lots of magazine pages on their individual web pages? Does the website look professional?
* If the model scout is approaching a teenager, they should always ask that the teen's parents call them to arrange a meeting and accompany them.
* If you go for a meeting because one person from an agency has spotted you, then be aware that you are not actually beholden to that agency. In fact, if you don't like the look of the agency or don't get on with the people there, but you do like the idea of modelling, you are well advised to shop around other agencies to see if somewhere else is more suited to you.
* No one suggesting that you try modelling should ever be asking you for money. Model scouting can be a competitive business and some talent-spotters have been known to ask wannabe models to pay them for an introduction to an agency. But just knock on the agency doors yourself (or telephone).
If you're tall, naturally thin and good-looking, they're only too happy to hear from you.
* You don't need a grooming course in order to model. It can be helpful but, as Lisa Williams of Vanity Walk says: "Girls mainly do our courses for confidence, grooming, makeup and skincare tips and deportment. It's more about personal development." Other agency staffers say that, "if you've got what it takes, you've got it. And you'll learn on the job with your agent's help".
* Everyone involved in the modelling business agrees that nobody should ever promise success.
Even if a model has potential, there are no guarantees, and plenty of other factors that have an impact.
