Dayton937

Things to do in Dayton | Restaurants, Theatre, Music and More

Cupcake Couture

DFW’s Casting Call for Children: Cute and Adorable Kids Are Welcomed…No “Stage Moms” or “Talent Scouts” Allowed!

By Leave a Comment

This will probably be one of my bluntest blogs ever so lets get straight to the point–I hate the shows Toddlers & Tiaras, Dance Moms, and every other show that has to do with talentless parents forcing their children to live out their failed dreams on national television. With that being said–on March 10, 2012 Dayton Fashion Week will be hosting a casting call for children ages 4-14 at De’lish Café located at 139 N. Main St. in Downtown Dayton from 10a-1p. We are asking that participants bring at least one can good or non-perishable food item with them to the Casting Call for the Dayton Food Pantry—this is not required to be seen but it will be highly appreciated.

When we first thought about adding a children’s runway show to Dayton Fashion Week both Junda Morris-Kennedy(the CEO of DFW) and I cringed at the notion of having to deal with the parents—so much so that we actually decided against the show at one point and opted to do a Hair Show instead. But then we were introduced to Dayton based designer Cheree Cantrell and her kids clothing line Cupcake Couture which made me want to run out and have a baby so that they could wear her clothes! Long story short we decided against doing the Hair Show and on Thursday July 26, 2012 Dayton Fashion Week will present a Kids Fashion Collection Show featuring designs by Cupcake Couture and AM Victorious! Here are a few tips on how to prepare for this casting call.

Act Your Age

This is a kids casting call, I want to see kids acting like kids, dressing like kids, and looking like kids in there photos. Again the photos DO NOT need to be professional we will need a clear head shot and a body shot in their everyday clothes. This is open to children ages 4-14 the only requirement is if your child shows up with false eyelashes, “flippers” or false teeth, spray tans, more makeup than Tammy Faye Baker, hair bigger than Dolly Pardon’s, pant to their ankles like Lil Wayne,and dressed like Beyoncé—your child WILL NOT be allowed to participate in our casting call.

During this casting call not only will the kids be in the spotlight but we will also be watching the parents as well—Parents if you come in with a bad attitude–your child WILL NOT be allowed to participate in our casting call because we will be working closer with the parents then we will be with the children and we don’t have time to deal with problematic parents—so in the words of Prince– parents “act your age not your shoe size”. We want this to be a fun and playful environment both during the casting call and the actual runway production.

Safety First

All participants must have this signed release form http://​library.constantcontact.com/​download/get/file/​1101602765664-514/​DFW+model_agreement.pdf.(Please Disregard the height and all black attire requirement we did not have time to update this form from our adult casting call). All participants for the kids casting call MUST BE ACOMPANIED BY A PARENT OR A LEGAL GUARDIAN THAT IS AT LEAST 18 YEARS OF AGE! There will be NO exceptions made to this rule. This is not us trying to be mean or single anyone out THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE!

Another safety issue that I must address is this—During our first casting call for adult models. We had several “scouts” for other “agencies” show up to our casting call unannounced and uninvited to do some recruiting. Not only does this show a lack of professionalism on their part by piggy backing off of our event but it also poses as a safety risk for participants. So to avoid this from happening again during this casting call we are not allowing spectators in the building—ONLY PARENTS/LEGAL GUARDIANS AND THE PARTICIPATING CHILD WILL BE ALLOWED IN THE BUILDING—no aunts, cousins, neighbors, and etc will be allowed. Parents if anyone approaches you outside of the building about signing up your child to an agency or gives you a card for you to call them about some great opportunity for your child to model please report this to us immediately. Last year I took my little sister Portia to the America’s Next Top Model Casting Call at The Greene and there was an Escort Service handing out cards to participants. Let’s face it there are some sick people in the world and We CAN NOT guarantee anything to you about these “scouts” but I will ask you to ask yourself this question. If this person is representing a reputable agency why do they need to lurk outside of another casting call to find talent? If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to email us at [email protected].

Important Dates about Dayton Fashion Week and How to Break into Modeling

By Leave a Comment

As the Director of Operations for the City of Dayton’s first International Fashion Week, I can’t tell you enough just how grateful we are for the overwhelming show of support that we have received from the entire Miami Valley area. Plans are really coming together and we have an exciting line up of designers who have come on board to be a part of this ground breaking event for our city including Marlene Haute Couture, Bothdol Fashions, House of Jola, and Dayton’s very own kids line Cupcake Couture just to name a few! Before I go any further there are some important dates to remember that are rapidly approaching; on Wednesday February 1 at 8:15 and 8:45 be sure to tune in to FOX 45 in the Morning, where the Dayton Fashion Week team will make its debut–there will be a mini fashion show featuring the designs of Marlene Haute Couture. On Saturday February 25 from 10am-3pm Dayton Fashion Week will hold its first casting call for models—all models must bring with them this signed release form. To be clear, there will be separate casting calls for the Children’s Runway Show and to become one of the hosts for Inside Couture Television, the dates and locations for these casting calls will be announced soon. Finally, the deadline for designers to apply to be a part of Dayton Fashion week is Thursday March 1 all submissions must be sent via our website at daytonfashionweek.com.

Since the announcement was made about Dayton Fashion Week members of the DFW team have been bombarded with question about the industry and the most common question is “How do I become a model?” So here are a few pointers on how to jump start your modeling career–The first thing you need to know is what genre you fit into. There are several genres of modeling; High Fashion, Plus-Sized, Lifestyles, and Promotional are the most common. High Fashion Modeling is probably the most popular and well known form of the modeling industry—these are the models that you see sashaying up and down the runways for some of the world’s top designers and they are also seen in magazines like Vogue. These models are typically very thin and tall, females must be at least 5’10 and males 5’9. Plus-Sized models also fall under the High Fashion Models height restrictions, the only difference is size–Plus-Sized Model typically wears a size 6-12. Lifestyle models are generally used in photos showing a common life activity—for example– an ad photo for Tide in a magazine of a mother joyfully doing laundry. Promotional Models are used at various conventions showcasing products. A models height and size tend to be a lot less restrictive for both Lifestyle and Promotional Models.

Once you have determined what genre you fit into, now it’s time to take some pictures! As mentioned in one of my previous columns–DO NOT GO OUT AND SPEND HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS ON PROFESSIONAL PICTURES!! There are cheaper ways to get the pictures that you need to start your modeling career. There are thousands of photographers looking to fine tune their skills on websites like modelmayhem.com which is a networking site for models, designers, makeup artist, and photographers. It’s free to join and what’s even better—there are a lot of photographers who are willing to work with you free of charge also known as TFP if you have the look that they are looking for to build their portfolio. If you book a job via Model Mayhem it is very important that you discuss concepts, compensation, locations, ask for references, and ask if escorts are welcomed prior to arranging any meetings or shoots. Another cheap way to get the pictures that you need is to have a friend or a family member take the pictures for you please reference the criteria for photos in this past article about the casting call for DFW.

So now you know which genre you’re in, you have your pictures, and now it’s time to get discovered. This is where it’s important for you to start doing research on the various fashion markets in the U.S. New York is known for more High Fashion work, Chicago and Los Angeles do more Editorial, Atlanta’s market is geared towards Promotional and Lifestyles, and Miami does a mix of all 4 markets–there are also off seasons for each of these cities. You should also research the various agencies because not all agencies cater to each genre. Once you’ve picked the agency that you think best suites you, find out when they hold their open calls, which is pretty much a casting call. If you can’t afford to travel ask for a mailing address, website, or email address where you can send your photos. Please understand that agencies handle hundreds of phone calls and receive thousands of pictures every day, if an agency is interested in you they will contact you.

Hopefully these tips will help you in your pursuit to breaking into the industry. If you haven’t done so yet please “LIKE” our Facebook page. Can you think of a better way to launch your career than at Dayton Fashion Week?