ALESSIA PALMA – LIFE AS A BOOKER
In the chaotic world of fashion there are many professionals figures who, even if in the background, allow for the coordination of many activities. Young Alessia Palma, booker of the prestigious model agency Why Not in Milan, is one of them and here she tells us better about her job.
Your work is a behind the scenes job of which many people know very little about, can you explain what you really do?
Every time I have to answer this question I am a little in crisis. In fact, our work is very broad: we treat the image of a model and follow his career in all directions. We organize his working life, including casting, request appointments, shooting, obviously trying to do the best for him. The most important thing to consider is that we are dealing with a person: often we become a little like psychologists, involving also emotions and feelings, this is the most fun and rewarding part of my work. What the booker does is pretty much the work that a sport agent does for his athlete.
What process, and training, led you to this work?
I started my career two years ago, I sent a resume, even though I had no idea what it was all about: completely ignorant of all this world, although I always had a passion for the world of fashion. I needed an internship to graduate, and so it all started. I continued to study while working for a degree in "Humanities" in Cattolica University in Milan.
There are many schools dedicated to aspiring models, do you recommend them to young people who dream of pursuing this career?
As a matter of fact, modelling is something inherent in the person: you must have it within you. I do not think that schools "teach to become models"; you can get better, of course, but they are things you learn along the way, gaining more confidence, working and accumulating experience. I highly recommend not to spend money nor to shoot books, nor to enroll in modeling schools.
Recently, Agyness Deyn, one of the most famous models in recent years, said she lied about her date of birth, and she generated considerable buzz, what about the issue of age of the models?
I do not think that age is an issue for a career as a model. Especially recently we had the proof that if you are top, even at the age of 40 you can work without any problems. On the other hand, however, an increasing number of models who are minors are now approaching this type of career, that is true. To me this is due to the fact that abroad they grow much faster (in fact most of the boys and girls not yet eighteen are foreigners). The question of age, then, is very bound to the personality of the model.
How would you rate the phenomenon of bloggers who are increasingly being chosen by companies as a testimonial of collections or special initiatives instead of professional models?
I love fashion bloggers, but personally consult only foreign ones. Unfortunately I think the Italian bloggers confuse fashion with the telling of their private life, something absolutely beyond the idea of fashion, and they find themselves becoming ambassador of brands or special collections to them dedicated: this is not the task a true blogger fashion. My favorite blogger is Lua P., a Peruvian girl very talented, creative and discrete.
Andrea Vigneri