Natalie Joos

[missnyc]

I don't know if it's the right forum to start a thread about her. She started being a model and worked with Craig McDean for six years, now she has her own Casting Agence.


papermag




street peeper

She's so stylish!!!!

 

[turnofflights]

i dig her style

 

[BerlinRocks]

I guess this is the right place, if the thread doesn't turn into a Style Subject and if we got at least one itw or for what clients she exactly work, with which models, celebs etc.

Because right now I just don't know who she is .... except that she loves skirt .....

 

[missnyc]

Having modeled and earned a journalism degree in her native Belgium, easy-on- the-eyes casting director Natalie Joos knows a thing or two about editing her way through headshots. Joos moved to New York in 1997 and spent six years working for photographer Craig McDean, helping him launch the careers of Belgian beauties An Oost and Anouck Lepere. Now the head of her own eponymous casting agency, she uses her native Flemish (similar to Dutch) to chat up the Dutch girls who are all the rage these days. Joos writes, in English, for fashion magazines on the side, but admits that her journalism skills don’t really help much with casting. “I write good emails,” she says.

But her real talent, of course, is picking the right face -- for ad campaigns for clients like Hugo Boss and Rocawear, for shows in New York, London and Paris and for editorials in titles ranging from Purple to German Vogue. “I like a cute, pretty girl with presence and a personality -- not the ugly ducklings,” Joos says. Two of her sharpest (and not at all ugly) recent picks are rising stars Jacquelyn Jablonski and Lisanne de Jong, whom she cast in last spring’s Yigal Azrouël show.

“There’s nothing hard about being a casting director,” Joos insists, apart from developing the thick skin required to get through show season. The pentalingual, five-foot-seven blonde’s alternative-career fantasies speak volumes about her versatility: performer (“Sing and dance for a living? Yes, please!”) or designer (Joos considered training to become one in Antwerp) or neurologist. “I am obsessed with the working of the brain,” Joos says. Whatever model joke you’re about to make, she’s probably already heard it.
papermag

This is what I've found about her.

 

[kelsea]

her clothes are so unique!

 

[missnyc]

trendycrew


Natalie Joos Casting Facebook Page

 

[cologne_rocks]

Natalie is so cool and really influent

She's casting for a lot of magazines like Vogue Nippon, Interview, I-D, Hercules, Numero, V, Vogue Germany and does the advertisement casting for Hugo Boss.... As far as a know she does the show casting for Jill Stuart, VPL, Valentino, Hugo Boss, Bruno Pieters.

We did an interview with her last weekend about her work as casting agent, i'll post
She's also stylist and writes for Love Magazine and The Last Magazine.

Interview: Natalie Joos (Casting Director)

Streetstyle shot via streetpeeper.com

The right styling, the best and most flattering lightning, a certain vibe throughout the whole editorial-theme/ fashionshow..... all of these things are decisive for a designer to present his masterpieces in the best way possible. But what is even more crucial: the right model-choice.
"Hand-picked" girls by the designers themselves are rare these days and therefore, the profession of a casting director became more and more important. And among Russel Marsh, Maida & Rami or Kannon Rajah, Natalie Joos is doing an awesome job - always being spot on with her choices (for fashion shows like VPL and Yigal Azrouel, magazines -take Vogue Nippon or i-D as an example- and also a-list campaigns like Hugo by Hugo Boss). A model-cast can give a completely different atmosphere to a show. It can give benefit to the clothes. And it can make a deep impression on the audience. It can give a picture exactly the feeling and mood it needs (essential for a campaign!). And Natalie certainly manages to create this accurate feeling. Therfore, we are more than honoured to present you our interview with her now:


We learned from Models.com that you were Craig McDean’s Studio Manager - which is a job 99% of us fashionistas would kill for. Tell us why you’ve decided to leave him and to start up your own business as casting director?
I loved being Craig's studio manager but after being there for more than 5 years I started outgrowing my position and itching to do something else, on my own. When I left, it was Craig who encouraged me to pursue casting as a career.

How did you actually get started in the fashion business? Has it always been your dream to work in the industry?
I have always been interested in fashion. I bought my 1st fashion magazine (i-D) when I was 12 I think. And when I graduated from high school and had to make a choice for higher education I contemplated going to the Antwerp Academy to study design. I was always making my mom sew clothes for me for the New Year's parties. I designed them and she sewed them. But I opted to try University first. And that went brilliantly so I continued. I wrote my thesis on the "ideal standards of beauty in mass media" so even in university, studying journalism, i kept my interest in fashion alive and it drew me to the right places and people. Eventually, i ended up in New York and the rest is history. It was never a dream, just a healthy interest, but I was nevertheless and unwarily drawn into the industry.

Iris Strubegger by Paola Kudacki on the cover of Hercules Mag & Snejana Onopka by Maria Sorrenti for Hugo by Hugo Boss Fall08

When you audition models, what are some of the qualities you’re looking for? Is there a certain look you prefer?
I like pretty girls. Models have to be models. They have to stand out from us mere mortals. I want to look at a girl and go: Wow you are fantastic looking!

What is your definition of natural beauty?
I think natural beauty comes from within. A happy face is a beautiful face. A smile, bright eyes, pink cheeks. Effortless.

Could you describe the process of a fashion-show casting a little bit?
I start by seeing all the new faces at the pre-casting. They come in, have their polaroid taken, do the walk and leave. This takes about 2 minutes per girl. Then I make my wish list board. I place all the girls' cards on the board who I could/would like to see in the show. Then I request options for each of the girls on my board. Once you get all of them in place u start confirming, scheduling the fittings and calling them in for the show. Done. It's a little bit like completing a puzzle.

There’ve been quite a few changes regarding the model-cast this season. Do you think this is just the beginning of something really “drastic” – how do you think the industry will look like in 5 years?
In the past 2 decades we saw the Supermodels, followed by a stint of heroin chic, followed by a stampede of sexy Brazilians, then a wave of tall, skinny Russians, and now we are once again seeing more curves and shape with front runners Lara Stone and Doutzen Kroes. It’s a process of action-reaction. We like big now, in a couple of years we will skinny again. The process never fails. My university thesis is a more elaborate (400 page) dissertation about just this.

Boss Orange Spring2010

How much of the casting process is the client’s vision and how much involves your personal preferences?
It is ALWAYS the client's vision. The casting agent has provided the client with the right faces to REPRESENT his vision. If I get carte blanche, I will always keep the client's image or concept in check. Often I veto girls when I think they are not right, or push girls when I think they will elevate the show.

It seems like more people are talking about diversity of models from skinny to plus sized and from Caucasian, to black and Asian girls on the runways. What are your thoughts concerning this matter?
Same thing. People evolve. Tastes evolve. They are called trends and are constantly moving. That is why fashion is called fickle and superficial. We don't dwell too long on the same subject. Like Heidi Klum says in project runway: "In fashion, one day you're in, the next day you're out." (haha!)

VPL Fashionshow Fall2010

You have to cast a girl for a fresh, summery editorial shoot. Floral prints, airy fabrics and very minimal make-up. How does she look like?
I am thinking of a blonde with long, wavy hair. Maybe blue eyes. And a nice smile.

There are always the so-called “one season wonders” – models who do very well and book all the right shows, maybe even land some blue-chip campaigns and editorials but then, they fade as quickly as they came. Do you think the reason for this is up to the girls themselves, a matter of management (therefore – agency related) or do clients get fed up with a model so easily these days?
There are certain gems that emerge every season. The ones that truly possess all the right qualities to survive model trends, with or without great management. A great model really has the right face, body, proportions, walk and personality and there are only very few girls that have all the elements in place. I don't think it's necessarily the clients who get fed up with the same faces, but if you have a little bit of an eye you can easily tell who are the true wonders; the rest are fillers.

How is it that we see your casts quite often related to Paola Kudacki’s work? Pure coincidence or is there a collaboration?
Paola and I are close friends. We discussed the idea of working together about 2 years ago when she started to do a lot more editorial and needed help with casting. It's great to work with friends, and to work with someone as talented and busy as Paola. I understand her vision and her career direction so we are sort of growing together.

Mariacarla in i-D Spring2010 & Kendra Spears in Vogue Nippon - both shot by Paola Kudacki

In the end: Could you give us a little update on the projects you’re currently working on?
I am working on a few editorials and I have 2 campaigns holding. One is a German catalog with kids - I love kids castings! End of April is when it will get really busy. Right now I am focusing on my side projects. I am launching a blog on Monday, dedicated to my love for vintage, travel, music and casting: talesofendearment.blogspot.com And I am going to Coachella to report on the festival for The Last Magazine (I am a contributing editor at the magazine) and do thrift shopping for my blog. I also have a book in the works but that will not be for another couple of years.


Thank you very much for doing this with us, Natalie! Much appreciated.

Source: digital diamonds

 

[missnyc]

Thank you so much, cologne_rocks

 

[turnofflights]

she's got a great pair of legs

 

[missnyc]

212dressingroom

With Daull Kim

desk of cherie

With Julia Restoin-Roitfeld

fashionistasworld

With Anouck Lepere

life.com

 

[missnyc]

models.com


harpersbazaar.com

I want more photos of her!!

 

[cologne_rocks]

Check her new blog, started two weeks ago about Natalie's latest casting trips, vintage shopping, daily life and some further random but funn stuff

http://talesofendearment.blogspot.com/

 

[cologne_rocks]

She just casted the ENTIRE V Mag Issue from Cover to Editoral stuff (the July '10 issue), that's major, even for her.

 

[missnyc]

jak&jil


the sartorialist

 

[missnyc]

Behind-The-Scenesters: Natalie Joos


Designers design. Photographers photograph. Models model. That much—in broad strokes, at least—is clear. But what about the artists, technicians, and industry insiders, often unpublicized and underappreciated, who help to get clothes and accessories made and shown? Call them Behind-the-Scenesters: people who shape our experience of fashion but never take a bow on the catwalk or strike a pose for the camera. Without them—from pattern-makers to production designers—the show wouldn’t go on. And in a new series, Style.com sits down with a few of these pros to find out, basically, what they do.

To the untrained eye, the models legging it down the catwalk at a fashion week show represent just another parade of pretty girls. But as casting director Natalie Joos knows, the appearance of a particular model on a particular runway is anything but arbitrary. For Joos, who has cast fashion week shows for clients such as Lacoste, Mark Fast, ADAM, and Yigal Azrouël, not to mention myriad lookbooks, ad campaigns, and magazine editorials, deciding which pretty face fits where is a lot like assembling a jigsaw puzzle in the dark. Here, Joos talks to Style.com about putting the casting pieces together.

So, Natalie: In one sentence, what do you do?
I’m a casting director. Which means, really, that I’m the link between the model and the client. Photographers, stylists, designers, anyone who needs a model, I connect them. Sometimes that means I’m asked to find a blue-eyed blonde for a particular shoot, and then I call around to the agencies to see who’s available on that day for that rate and for that job; sometimes it’s much more involved, like putting together a fashion show. In that case, you’re really searching for the girls who fit the vision of the designer. And figuring out what exactly that vision is.

Speaking as an outsider, casting a fashion show seems kind of like shooting fish in a barrel. I mean, there are plenty of tall, skinny, pretty girls—or boys—floating around. Where’s the art in what you do?
First of all, you need a good eye. You have to be able to spot the good models. There are bad ones, you know. The body, the walk, the attitude—you’re looking at all of that. And for a show especially, you’re trying to tell a coherent story. You want the whole group of girls to have the same feel. Casting ADAM is very different from casting Yigal, you know? It’s a different girl. Yigal’s girl, she’s tough, she struts. The ADAM girl is a bit softer. You have to translate the vibe of the clothes through the girls wearing them. It’s not just, oh, let’s find the prettiest ones. There’s a whole process of interpretation.

If some super big-time model wanted to walk in a show you felt she was totally wrong for, would you cast her?
Hmm. I mean, ultimately, you’re trying to communicate the designer’s vision, and you don’t want one girl, no matter how famous, to interfere with that. But at the same time, I’m not going to tell you that reputation doesn’t matter. You want to see new faces, of course, but the trendy girls are trendy for a reason—they’re good at what they do, and they have a look that’s of-the-moment. You don’t want to use girls no one else is using.

As you say, your brief is to communicate a designer’s vision. But do you have a bias? Are there certain types of models you prefer to cast?
I like beautiful girls. That’s my taste, and yeah, if you work with me, I bring my own aesthetic to the table. I like a girl who you look at and say, wow…where did you come from? Who made you? I like a model to be a model. Taller, more beautiful, a little unreal. I’m not particularly into that whole ugly-duckling, she’s-so-awkward-she’s-beautiful thing.

And yet—as you say—there are trends.
Yeah, absolutely. When I first started in the business, it was that heroin-chic moment. All those emaciated girls. Which followed the supermodel moment, and was followed by the Brazilians. Boobs, beautiful skin, all that hair. Then we went back to the Belgians, the quirky girls. It comes in waves, waves of extremes. We’re back to beautiful right now. If you want to sum it up in one person, it’s the Lara Stone moment. Sexy. I think it has something to do with the economy. Awkward doesn’t sell. Sex does.

What’s the next wave going to be, in your opinion?
Well, I find I’m getting a lot of requests for real people. I think it’s part of a bigger trend, with bloggers and reality TV. Clients are picking up on the idea that a normal, cool girl can be way more interesting and way more relatable than some, you know, goddess. They want to see human, they want to see imperfection.

Speaking of…you cast for Mark Fast, who led the way in using plus-size models in shows. More and more designers and editors are picking up on that. Do you feel like that’s a fad, or an acknowledgment that a lot of the customers worldwide are bigger, or what?
Well, first of all, let me say that I honestly, sincerely believe in diversity on the runway. All kinds of diversity—color, size, what have you. I’d like to say that these bigger girls are going to be around in a few seasons, but I’m not sure that’s true. The more extreme the trend, the more quickly it passes. That’s been my experience, anyway.

Would you advocate for the plus-size girls sticking around?
Honestly, there’s only so much I can do. I’m not going to name any names, but it’s like, casting different ethnicities, I’ve had clients who have worried that the cast I propose is too diverse, they worry about it looking contrived. I’ve suggested, they’ve refused.

In the case of a shoot, what do you do when you can’t find the kind of girl you’re looking for, or if you can’t get the girl that you want?
That happens all the time. Sometimes, if it’s about one girl you were hoping to cast and she’s not available, then you look around the agencies for someone similar. In other cases, I might go back to the client and suggest another direction. I’ve done shoots where we started out looking for a blue-eyed blonde and wound up with a black girl instead.

How did you get into casting?
I was Craig McDean’s studio manager for six years, and I helped out with casting and I saw all the girls come through. Craig told me I should do casting full-time; he said I had a knack for it.

Is there one favorite project you’ve worked on?
Working on Rocawear is always a blast. The first few campaigns I did with them, I mean—top girls, top actors, tons of extras, travel to amazing locations. Those were the days. Also, the July issue of V—the “sexy body” issue—I was the curating casting director, and that was really great, having discretion over the whole book.

What’s the weirdest part of your job? I’m sort of imagining that doing street casting must be a little odd. I mean, walking up to total strangers and telling them they’re attractive…It’s not weird at all. I’m always looking at people, checking them out. And every so often you see someone with something special going on, and you just walk up to them, give them a card, and say, you’ve got a great look, I’m a casting director, can you come see me so I can take snapshots? Everyone says yes. And I do mean everyone. People in New York City are just walking around waiting to be discovered. When I show up, sometimes people are a little surprised, but mostly it’s like, oh, well, finally.

style.com

 

[filleanglaise]

Such lovely style! She has a quirky flair I just love

 

[turnofflights]

damn i love this woman's style!! and her legs!!!

 

[Cicciolina]

She's got such fun style, I love it. I also like how her pieces aren't distinctively designer, but you can tell they're really good quality and unique.

 

[hysteria]

streetpeeper

 

[cologne_rocks]

She's utterly good-looking!