Our search for dynamic young Fashion Showcase models takes us once more to LA and the talent-laden Barbizon AWARDS show. Who says life isn’t beautiful? Not us.
By Angel Anthony Mendez

Here we are, out on the West Coast, judging beautiful young women and handsome young men for the Barbizon Awards. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it, right? To an outsider, it may appear like the easiest, most enviable job in the world, but it’s not so simple. First, we’re judging for the Mr. & Ms. Barbizon Awards as well as casting for the Pageantry and PromTime magazine 2008 Fashion Showcase. Second, this competition is not only about who is the most beautiful or handsome. The trick is also to find the girl and guy who are ready to make a total commitment with a positive, professional attitude. So is it an easy job? Well, let’s see...

WINNING PAIR: Mark Valvano and Jacq Voetglin (above, L-R) were singled out for their strong looks and personality traits. Two JMT models, Bailey and Christina (left, L-R), await their interviews.

The process for developing Pageantry and PromTime’s photo-shoot is virtually a year-round endeavor, but it kicks into high gear each year in early January during the IMTA Convention in Los Angeles, California, held at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel, where we begin to create the look of the showcase by selecting its most important element—the young lady who will need to look gorgeous in our gowns. This step could easily be the most grueling and punishing assignment of the entire process. Finding talent is one thing, but discovering exceptional talent in entirely another. To see evidence of the true rarity of talent and beauty, you only need to tune in to the first month’s installments of American Idol, where contestants humiliate themselves in an attempt to display their talent (or lack thereof). Pageantry and PromTime avoids the Idol-style cattle call, because it is incredibly fortunate to have a valuable secret weapon at our side—the Barbizon School of Modeling.

Barbizon is a training school for aspiring models and talent, with world-famous course curriculums that prepare students to enter the world of modeling and acting with confidence, poise, and style. Barbizon has been affiliated with IMTA for about a decade, presenting their talent to the delight of the world’s top industry professionals. Here Barbizon honors its most accomplished students with the Barbizon Awards and culminates the honors with its top prizes, the Mr. & Ms. Barbizon Awards, after which the recipients are also then booked as two Pageantry and PromTime Fashion Showcase models. This helps ensure that our photoshoot will include fashion models who are also role models for our entire cast.

With the invaluable assistance of Barbizon International Inc.’s Vice President of Marketing and Franchisee Relations, Wendy Cleveland, the intricate and careful selection process begins. Before we even step foot into the audition room, Wendy has narrowed the participating contestants according to a strict set of criteria. Are we picking the most beautiful people? No, we’re choosing the two people who will best fit into our photo-shoot team. We’re walking into this event to fill a specific need for Pageantry and PromTime magazine and the world-renowned fashion designers, who partner with us to display their gowns in our highly successful print publications as well as on our highly visible web sites, Pageantryonline.com and PromTime.info. We have certain responsibilities, objectives, and criteria that need to be filled before we begin to evaluate and make our subjective decisions.

The casting room is packed with excellent candidates and incredible star potential. All the candidates meet our specific height and age requirements, and the high caliber of beauty and talent in the room makes choosing only two models very tough. How do you pick out two exceptional beauties in a room filled with outstanding good looks? This is where our interviews provide addition information, and, thankfully, two candidates were able to separate themselves from the pack.

Mark Valvano was the first of the two to catch our attention with his easy-going yet upbeat attitude—a rare combination to find. That patient demeanor will help him follow directions on location. As he’ll discover, there are many “hurry up and wait” moments followed by intensely creative sessions with Pageantry and PromTime stylists, the wardrobing team and the art director, photographer, and photo-shoot production staff working behind the camera. Mark’s personable attitude and mischievous grin, we believe, will help the other models to relax on the set and inspire some camera-friendly modeling interactions when our photographer is snapping away.

Mark is from Elwood City, Pennsylvania, an old steel-mill town about a half hour north of Pittsburgh. He attended Youngstown State University in Ohio as a business major and never considered modeling. Then, after auditioning for an independent film at his college, Mark got bitten by the acting bug and did some research until he found the Stone Agency, a Barbizon affiliate, online. He came into IMTA hoping to learn from the experience. Mark told us his goal was to do his best in every situation thrown at him and have faith that things would work out. Smart kid.

Jacq Voetglin was one of the last models we interviewed. She is a true natural beauty who has that “girl-next-door, love-at-first-sight” look. She revealed later she was very excited and extremely nervous during her interview, but you wouldn’t have known it; Jacq was calm, cool, and collected, and conducted herself with incredible poise and grace. She admitted she had to thank the amazing preparation she received from Barbizon for her unflappable confidence. Her nerves were almost getting the better of her, she says, until she arrived at IMTA and “everything just clicked.” She felt comfortable with her training and used that knowledge and self-assurance to her advantage.

Jacq grew up near the beaches in Vineland, New Jersey, and loves water sports. She began modeling at the age of 12 before recently taking a break to finish school. We are impressed when young people such as Jacq make smart decisions and sacrifice to achieve a goal. Finishing her education shows that she is willing to focus and commit to accomplishing whatever task is at hand, and her ability to block out distractions and remain on task will serve her well during the Fashion Showcase photo shoot.

Throughout the years of growth and success for Pageantry and PromTime’s Fashion Showcase, Barbizon has proven to be especially instrumental in finding the beautiful, talented, and knowledgeable models who ensure a successful photo shoot. So, is helping Barbizon choose two award winners a difficult job? Sure, but come to think of it, with partners like the Barbizon organization and Mr. and Ms. Barbizon, our job not only looks easier, it is easier. For that, they deserve a great deal of the credit.