3 questions for Carine Caillieret, co-founder of the model agency IMM International

3 questions for Carine Caillieret, co-founder of the model agency IMM International The co-founder of the IMM International agency is handling the model selection for the 10th edition of the Weekend Fashion Award, the international competition supporting young fashion designers, launched by Le Vif Weekend and Knack Weekend. How is the selection of the models who will walk in the Fashion Weekend Award made? Carine Caillieret: It is made in consultation with the team of Jean-Paul Lespagnard, the event's artistic director. The task is to select 24 girls and 8 young men, who must be tall and used to walking runways. Some of them are indeed just back from Fashion Week in Milan or Paris. We are keen to showcase our agency's leading faces, as well as those who have already been featured in shoots in Le Vif Weekend or Knack Weekend. A large majority of them are Belgian, but some also come from the Netherlands, Germany and England. These are people who are used to doing shows. They need to feel comfortable on stage, in order to properly understand the choreography. How is this show different from the ones your models are usually used to doing? Carine Caillieret: Our models are used to working for young designer competitions. So this show is not stressful for them. It is still the same job, they bring the same energy. But it has to be said that the atmosphere of the Fashion Weekend Award is particularly relaxed and friendly. It gives us the chance to come together as a team, in a very pleasant atmosphere. How do you usually go about recruiting new models? Carine Caillieret: It is done in various ways. We have "scouts" tasked with spotting new faces at festivals or places frequented by young people, such as shopping areas. We also regularly organise castings. This will be the case, for instance, on 19 and 20 October, at the Brussels Fashion Days. Finally, more and more people approach our agency directly or are advised through our network. It is really very varied; every means is good for finding tomorrow's new star.