Model scouts Jeni Rose and David Cunningham from IMG Models are starring in the new RTÉ and Sidelines Productions show 'The Model Scout'.
They have scouted all of the world for the renowned modelling agency IMG Models, but this will be the first time they bring their scouting skills to Ireland.
We talked to them about what they are looking for in the participants, last year's show, and what it takes to make it in the fast-moving fashion world.
Sarah McIntyre: What advice do you have for the girls trying out at the auditions?
Jeni: We want them to make sure they come with no make-up, they shouldn’t be nervous; they don’t need to have any special skills, or any special photos, or know how to walk on a runway. We understand that they are beginners and that’s really what we’re looking for. Just relax, be themselves, have fun. Don’t be intimidated!
David: Or embarrassed. It’s great, we’re going to have a good time!
SMI: Do you have any idea what kind of girl you’re looking to find at this moment?
David: We really don’t. We never set out with preconceived idea of what we’re looking for. We’re looking for a girl that really catches your eye, a girl you want to keep looking at, a girl with a great personality. Obviously the basic criteria is 5’ 7” and up, 16 and up.
SMI: Are you planning on doing any other scouting rather than just at the official events?
Jeni: I think we’re going to try and do something with the basketball teams, because that way we know they’ll be tall!
SMI: You have scouted all over the world together, but have never been to Ireland before – is there any particular reason for that?
Jeni: Well mostly when we go to a country there’s more than one city we would go to. In Ireland the business is pretty much just in Dublin.
David: This is a really unique opportunity for us to actually go scouting all over Ireland. It was one of those opportunities where we thought ‘That’s great!” We can actually go all through the country to find girls as opposed to just visiting local agencies in Dublin.
Jeni: You know sometimes when we go to scout we’ll work with local agents there who have already done a pre-selection for us. This is really interesting for us because we’re going to get to see kids that nobody has seen before.
SMI: You’ve been approached many times and asked to do this type of show before but declined. What changed when RTÉ and Sideline Productions approached you?
Jeni: Well firstly we believed that Ireland could be scouted more so than it is. So that was interesting for us. And also, it was the spirit of the programme. Watching last year’s programme we really felt that it was done in such a sensitive way, and when you’re dealing with young girls that’s very important. At IMG we also look at every model as somebody’s kid and we want to make sure we take care of them in the way we would want our children to be taken care of.
David: And the way that we normally do at work. That’s how we treat our models, we treat them like they are somebody’s kid. They are young and impressionable and we want to build them up.
What are the essential qualities that you need to be a top model, asides from the looks?
David: You really have to have a drive to do it. It’s hard work. You really have to have a great work ethic.
Jeni: You have to want to do the job. I think that some people consider it to be a hobby, you know you do it part-time. You can’t do it at the level we want our models to do as a hobby. It’s a job.
