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September 10, 2005

Dawn Kissi Reports Model Life at Fashion Week

Elite model Alana Bunte has makeup applied during a beauty session at Bumble and Bumble in New York. Bunte was prepared for a week of casting calls for New York's Spring Fashion Week 2005 and made her first New York runway appearance in a show that introduced the New Faces of Elite, a group that she is a part of.

Lanky, long-legged and so pretty she turns heads, Alana Bunte was oblivious to the stares of strangers as she traipsed from audition to audition, hoping to land a modeling job at New York's Fashion Week. The teenager is one of hundreds of wannabe modeling stars, dreaming of being the next Giselle Bundchen, Cindy Crawford or Naomi Campbell. Modeling agency Elite hopes to use Bunte as a major weapon to battle back from difficult financial times and a stint in bankruptcy protection. Once an industry leader, Elite lost a costly lawsuit to an employee over smoking in its offices.

Businessman Eddie Trump, who bought the agency at auction last year and hopes to restore its luster, staged a nationwide scouting effort to find the next generation of super model in his "New Faces of Elite" campaign.

"I intend to build this brand again," said Trump, no relation to real estate mogul Donald Trump. "Elite is legendary."

At the front line is Bunte, who spent the last week getting made up and looked over. She hit as many as 14 auditions in one day.

Just 14 years old, the teen from Laguna Beach, California, stands 5 foot, 8 inches tall and possesses what insiders would call a "couture body."

The industry describes a "couture body" as between 5 feet 9 inches and 6 feet tall, long, lean and willowy.

Bunte's days typically start at 6 a.m. with hair and makeup sessions. Afternoons are spent in media training and runway classes where Elite staffers help perfect her walk -- the shoulders-back, hips-forward strut that can make or break a modeling career.

ONE COOKIE

En route to her 10th casting call one day, Bunte stopped to do the unthinkable -- eat

"I am having just one cookie," she said, ducking into a pastry shop. "I love to eat."

But, dressed in a denim miniskirt, tight top and cowboy boots, she is all business.

"This is a job for me," she said. "I could be back home on the beach, but this is what I've wanted for a long time."

And even at a young age, she has learned to take the industry's absurdities in stride.

"We've been told we are fat. We all get criticized," she said. "But it's work, you know?"

Amid the bustle, her youth shows. She giggles, and she loves to chat about her three brothers and her dogs back home. She keeps her distance from other models who smoke incessantly and gossip about what late-night parties to attend.

Never far from her side is Bunte's mother, Angela, a former beauty pageant contestant who keeps a sharp and protective eye on her daughter.

Bunte totes her "book," a portfolio of professional photos and editorial layouts where she has appeared.

As the semi-annual gala known as Fashion Week hit full swing, she had landed just two jobs with Gen Art, which showcases new designers.

The big names -- Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, Baby Phat -- didn't call back.

Bunte needs to work with a prominent photographer and get her face out there, advises Claudine Ingeneri, bookings editor at Elle magazine.

"When they're young, they tend to get a bit restless, but things take time in this industry," Ingeneri said.

For Bunte's mother, though, it's just as well as she made plans to head home. School started last week, and that's where she wanted her daughter to be, she said.

Posted by Stephen at September 10, 2005 02:45 PM