If you were in the city this weekend, you might have noticed a number of freakishly tall and thin girls running around town, their books in hand,which means one thing – it’s casting time for New York Fashion Week! Over the course of six hours, hundreds of girls — from up-and-comers to  bona fide runway stars — ushered through the Hudson Hotel‘s gorgeous library to see and be seen by Andrew Weir and his team of professional model wranglers from ACW Worldwide.

“I met her seasons ago in Paris when she was 14,” Weir later tells me once Tanya Dziahileva has left, with more than a hint of wistful sentiment. “I could never pronounce her last name and I don’t even try. She’s always been Tanya D. to me.” On his note card he writes “No Words.”

Mr. Weir seems to have a personal relationship with many of the models that stomp through his biannual casting. He jokes with them, asks them about their vacations, their families and boyfriends — anything to make them feel at ease. Meeting a doe-eyed 16-year old Brazilian who spoke little to no English and who was wandering about the city all by her lonesome, he seems genuinely concerned. But he is also impressed with her walk, noting that she indeed has potential although she’s not quite ready for the runway.

Whenever a girl does strike his particular fancy, Weir has them walk twice, maybe more and he personally takes their photo. In the case of Arlenis Sosa and Ajak Deng — both big names in the industry — a fuss is understandably made with Mr. Weir remarking to Ajak, “You’re going to lose three pounds by show time we’re gonna make you walk so much!” But sometimes there is a new girl that also warrants a fuss, such as a statuesque brunette who recently switched agencies. “If you’re at the wrong agency, I’ll never see you. It’s insane,” he says before taking some photos of the girl. After she’s left he confides in one of his agents, “She’s going to be huge. This is like a star moment.”

Which has to be a compliment to any young model — a seal of approval from one of the top casting directors in the business. However, only time will tell if he will cast her for one of the four shows ACW is handling this season: Jen Kao, Thakoon, Rebecca Taylor and Joseph Abboud. Sunday saw the second round of casting and the final list will be decided upon the night before the shows. For some girls it will be a busy season and for others it will be better strut next time.

One girl who made an impression had walked for Mr. Weir in the past, but like the doe-eyed Brazilian teenager, she wasn’t “there” yet. ”Quite an improvement from a few seasons ago,” Mr. Weir says with a smile of approval. He then gets up from his chair to take several pictures of the model, jots down a few notes about her then calls the next sartorial lamb to the altar.

Photos: Richard Guaty

A model gets photographed

Grazing gracefully

A tender moment with Arlenis Sosa and Andrew Weir

"And she is giving us a loooook."

"No Words"

Some quiet time with Arlenis Sosa

Shooting Arlenis

The fabulous Sui He

Legs for days

Lined up at the library

Pert and pouty

Strutter

"You're going to lose three pounds by show time we're gonna have you walking so much!"

he stunning Ajak Deng

Samantha Gradoville

More waiting...

Girls awaiting their fate outside the casting

North America : Canada

Jessica Stam

Coco Rocha

Shalom Harlow

Linda Evangelista

Alek Wek

Jessica Stam

yann

Many of our favorite Indies were out last night including: Sir Ben Kingsley, Shenae Grimes, Famke Janssen, Rebecca Minkoff, Billy Burke, Scott Campbell, Arlenis Sosa, Genevieve Jones, Waris Ahluwalia, Lance Bass, & Sky Ferreira

The exhibition was itself  fantastic.  Some of the films included in the exhibtion were Taxi Driver, The Aviator, & Vertigo. Our personal favorite attraction happened to be costumes from Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. (Featured below)

The exhibition, which will be open to the public (FOR FREE!) starting today until June 19th 2011 at  Center 548 in New York City, celebrates the stories of obsessive craftsmanship behind some of cinema’s most iconic on-screen moments.  It takes 30 manual steps to create the perfect pair of Persol frames and  similarly this exhibit showcases how each instance of what appears on the silver screen  can take hours, weeks or even months of painstaking research and craftsmanship to develop and comes for a place of passion.

For some more art check out this video of Sam & I doing a wave in a flipbook we made at the event (below)

attends Persol Magnificent Obsessions: 30 Stories of Craftsmanship in Film at Center 548 on June 16, 2011 in New York City.

attends Persol Magnificent Obsessions: 30 Stories of Craftsmanship in Film at Center 548 on June 16, 2011 in New York City.

Somehow that event managed to combine three of my favorite things: Moet, supermodels, and sitting poolside. It felt more like a friend’s summer soiree compared to the regular industry events that we normally attend. It was quaint, but still full of buzz and excitement. Adriana Lima was comfortable enough to even showed off some  baby pictures.

Here are some quotes I gathered that night:

Arlenis Sosa On Vogue’s Black Issue: It was a great experience for me. Actually I didn’t even know models Chanel Iman and Jourdan Dunn before the shoot. I really think that it caused a splash and I would love American Vogue to do something similar.

Alessandra Ambrosio On The Festivities: I love it! It’s a wonderful time. I adore [Lorenzo Martone] I really just want to dance all night long.

All in all it was a great time with great people.

Here is a picture :

(Shot by Guest of a Guest Photog/our new bff Blaine Wins)

SUPERMODEL ALESSANDRA AMBROSIO HOSTS FIRST ANNUAL Supermodel Alesandre Ambrosio hosts the first annual Follow the Sun Event on June 24, 20010 at the Thompson Hotel LES POOL sponsored by Moet.

For more info on Rony Sham click here.

This gorgeous group pulls the signature i-D winky face, highlighting their colorful 80′s make-up. Similar to the looks from our For The Love of Marc Party, no?

SOURCE: The Fashion Time

Another feature in the Models Issue of Vogue May 2009 is “Meet the Boyfriends.”

Pretty straightforward — Patrick Demarchelier photographed six top models with their boyfriends: Doutzen Kroes, Chanel Iman, Arlenis Sosa, Julia Stegner, Caroline Trentini, and Anna Jagodzinska.

Cutest part: Caroline is dating the photographer’s son! And even though she’s clearly posing, this shot is my favorite because it seems the most authentic and least modelly.

GALLERY: Meet the Boyfriends.

Arlenis Sosa graces the cover of the May 2009 issue of German Vogue shot by Alexi Lubomirski, she posed in Lanvin’s Spring ’09 collection. Inside she’s featured in an editorial titled “Magic Black,”  shot completely in black and white.

LINKAGE: Modelinia

Models Arlenis Sosa, Atuai Deng, Adriana Lima, Aminata Niaria, Giedre Dukauskaite, Kendra Spears, Karmen Pedaru, Sessilee Lopez, Anna Gushina, Liberty Ross & Ali Stephens all make appearances on separate covers for French Mag shot by Thierry LeGoues.

LINKAGE: Models