Fashion week casting compresses an enormous amount of decision-making into a short window. A casting director may see several hundred models in a few days for a show that will use a fraction of them. Almost everything that decides the outcome happens in the first ninety seconds, and most of it is not what models expect.
How show casting is structured
Castings during show season come in two shapes. An open casting sees a large number of models in sequence, usually in a studio, usually running late. A direct casting is a smaller session where the designer or casting director has already seen a package from agencies and wants to meet a shortlist.
Agencies submit to both, and the submission itself is where a lot of the work happens. It goes over with current digitals, measurements, and — during show season specifically — clear availability, because a model who is unavailable for fittings is unavailable for the show regardless of how right they are.
What is actually being checked
Three things, roughly in this order.
The clothes have to fit. This is unromantic and it is the first filter. Show samples are made to a fixed size and there is no time or budget to remake them. A model who is wrong for the sample by a small margin is not "nearly right" — they are unbookable for that show and entirely bookable for the next one. This is the single most common reason a model is released at a casting, and it is not a judgement on them.
The walk. Casting directors look for a walk that is consistent and does not distract. Pace matched to the music and the clothes; a straight line without a wobble; arms that hang rather than swing; a turn that is clean. Faster is not better. The thing being sold is the garment, and a walk that draws attention to itself is a problem, not a personality.
The most common corrections given at casting are dull ones: chin fractionally lower, shoulders back, stop looking at the floor, slow down. Models who take a correction and apply it immediately get remembered. Models who apologise, explain, or apply it for three steps and revert do not.
Whether you will be easy on the day. A show day involves many hours of waiting, a fitting, hair and make-up done at speed by people who have never met you, and quick changes performed half-dressed in a room full of strangers. Casting directors are reading, in a very short interaction, whether somebody will be calm through that. It is a large part of the decision and it is almost never stated.
What to bring
Heels you can genuinely walk in — not the highest pair you own, the pair you are surest on. Something plain and fitted so the line of the body reads: black jeans or leggings and a plain top is the standard for a reason. Hair down and clean, skin bare or close to it. Your book and cards if your agency uses them, though during show season most casting happens off digitals.
Bring water and something to eat. Castings run late, several are usually stacked in one day, and the gap between them is the only chance you get.
Options, and how show season actually feels
During show season a model may be optioned for a great many shows and confirmed for far fewer. This is normal and it is not a sign anything has gone wrong. Designers hold options broadly because their own casting is not final until the fittings are done, and fittings happen close to the date.
The consequence is a calendar that looks full and is not, and a model needs their agency to be straightforward about which holds are real. A booker who lets a model believe every first option is a job is setting up a bad week. Our position is that a model should always know the difference between an option and a confirmed booking, because that is the only way to plan anything.
The measurements conversation, honestly
Show sample sizing is narrow, and pretending otherwise helps nobody. An agency that submits a model who cannot wear the sample is wasting that model's morning and the casting director's, and it happens constantly because somebody did not want an awkward conversation.
The straight version is better for everyone: measurements are a technical spec for a particular show, they change nothing about a model's worth, and a model who is wrong for one designer's sample is frequently right for the next one's. What a model is entitled to is accurate information about what a brief requires before they travel across London for it, and an agency that keeps current measurements on file so the question is answered before it is asked rather than at the door.
Fittings are part of the job
A confirmed show comes with a fitting, often at short notice and often in the evening. Missing a fitting can lose the show outright. Fittings are also where a lot of quiet reputation is built — a model who arrives on time, listens to the dresser and stands patiently while something is pinned is a model the studio asks for again.
Afterwards
Show credits change the kind of work a model is put up for over the following season, which is the practical value of runway beyond the day rate. They also carry into commercial casting, where a designer credit is a shorthand for a certain standard.
None of it requires a secret. It requires the right measurements for the sample, a walk that stays out of the way of the clothes, and being straightforward to work with for a long day.
FACES and show season
FACES is the boutique board of The Diversity Agency, a London modelling agency running since 2016. Because the board is small, availability and measurements sit in one place and a casting director gets a straight answer the same day rather than a forwarded email.
We work across London, Surrey, Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent, Manchester, the North East and the wider UK, and internationally on request. Casting directors can reach the booking desk here. Models seeking representation should use get scouted.
Frequently asked questions
What do casting directors look for at a London Fashion Week casting?
In practice: whether the show samples will fit, whether the walk is consistent and does not distract from the clothes, and whether the model will be calm through a long show day of fittings, quick changes and waiting. The sample fit is the first filter and the most common reason a model is released.
What should I wear to a runway casting?
Something plain and fitted so the line of the body reads — black jeans or leggings and a plain top is the standard. Heels you are genuinely steady in rather than the highest pair you own. Hair down and clean, skin bare or close to it.
Why am I optioned for lots of shows but confirmed for few?
Designers hold options broadly because their casting is not final until fittings are done, and fittings happen close to the date. A calendar full of first options during show season is normal and does not mean anything has gone wrong. A model should always be told clearly which holds are options and which are confirmed.
Does missing a fitting cost you the show?
It can, and often does. Fittings are frequently arranged at short notice and in the evening, and they are part of the booking rather than an optional extra.
Do I need runway experience to be submitted for shows?
No. Designers cast new faces for shows every season. Measurements that suit the sample and a consistent walk matter far more than an existing show history.