We caught up with top international model scout David Cunningham to get the lowdown on the new RTÉ 2 series 'The Model Scouts', in which he and Jeni Rose of IMG Models go on the hunt for a new Irish supermodel.
Sarah McIntyre: It’s been whittled down to the final twelve girls now, what set them apart from everyone else?
David Cunningham: Well we met everybody, and in the first episode you see the process that went into selecting the girls. We met with probably a thousand really wonderful girls who came to meet us, and then we would select a certain group of girls. Then we’d have to take their makeup off so we could see what they really look like and then it really came down to Jeni and I going through who we thought really had what it takes to go the distance. It really was not easy. We imagined it would be a lot easier!
SMI: And when you were doing the scouting was it mostly doing auditions, or did you also go out scouting yourselves?
DC: We did great stuff, we went to schools, we did street scouting, we stopped girls outside concerts. I don’t even know how many malls we did across Ireland so it was great scouting everywhere!
SMI: The standard of the competition looks really high this year, the photos of the final twelve are fantastic.
DC: I think people are going to be really impressed with the girls. The people who have been working with them, all the photographers, hair and make-up, the stylists. Everybody has said to us “These girls are amazing”.
What’s really interesting is that the girls are all strong in different areas, that’s really interesting for us too. It makes it really hard to figure out who’s going to go on each week. We’ve had to really zone in on who’s ready right now. That’s what we’ve told the girls. The girls that don’t make it through doesn’t mean that they can’t be models, it just means that right now they’re not ready yet.
SMI: Well obviously it’s a huge learning curve and a lot of these girls are just sixteen so this is their first chance to break into the industry, but not their last.
DC: No, certainly not their last. I think all the girls are going to do really well.
SMI: Working on the show is giving them great experience, can you tell us some of the things that are in store for them on the show?
DC: First of all they travel the world. They go to London, they do photoshoots and runway in Paris and Sydney and New York so they’re travelling all over the world and they’re meeting top people in the fashion industry. I mean the quality of the contributors is really astounding. They really are meeting the very top casting directors, the top photographers, hair, styling make-up – all of it!
SMI: And what do you think are the main challenges facing the girls?
DC: There are physical challenges, they’re going out there and learning how to walk and all of the stuff that we can teach them. The girls are testing themselves, they’re working on their confidence, so it’s great to be there and to encourage these kids to do things they might not believe in themselves that they can do. To say “You can do that, and here we’re going to help you”. So that’s probably be the best part for us.
SMI: Having read through the biogs of the different contestants, each of the girls has their own story to tell, but one of the girls stories stood out - Shannean Gormely who suffered from cancer last year. It must have been particularly significant for her to be on the show?
DC: It is, yeah. Shannean is an amazing girl and she’s going to do really well. She’s put herself out there and I think it was a really great experience for her to do that. To have somebody say “You know what, you can do this”. I mean we didn’t know at the time, that was something we found out later.
SMI: Did she come along to the auditions?
DC: Yes, we met her in the first casting in Dublin. Actually before the casting even began I spotted her and her mom in the mall and I went running up after them. I said “Please tell me you’re going to wait in line and come to see us!” and she said “Oh yeah we’re here for that.” So that was great, even before she got in line I was running after her and her mom!
SMI: So do the girls all get a makeover on the show?
DC: There is, there’s tips all along the way. I don’t know if you’d call it a makeover or a makeunder. A lot of it was learning to wear less makeup!
The Model Scouts is on RTÉ 2 at 9pm on Tuesday nights.
