Go Behind the Scenes at Vogue’s Open Casting with the 8 International Model Finalists

[soft upbeat music]

[Ignacio] 67,243 applications.

We had to narrow that down to eight.

[Cynthia] Different girls

coming from different backgrounds,

different religions, different cultures.

[Colette] All these models from all over the world,

I m like, How will they choose?

[Abrar] I actually just couldn t believe

that I was on a Vogue shoot.

[Ignacio] I m Ignacio Murillo

and I am the global talent casting director at Vogue.

After the fall/winter 2023 shows,

we wanted an initiative

to respond to the lack of diversity

that we saw that season on the runway.

The Open Casting Initiative was a global search

that sought to find more diverse models.

We went live April 19.

The first day I think we had immediately

like 10,000 applications.

The hashtag was trending for a few days.

All I kept seeing on my own personal TikTok was

basically all of the submission videos.

[Mars] I found out about open casting through TikTok.

They were searching for their new faces

and wanted to have a more diverse representation in fashion.

When I saw that, I thought, oh my God,

such a cool opportunity.

[Rania] It was a bit stressful

because I knew this was my opportunity,

and I really wanted to prove myself and do the best I could.

I don t know, the video just went boom.

[Colette] I saw her on social media and I was like,

Damn, she is very beautiful.

And I was seeing all these girls and I m like,

Okay, I m gonna try.

[Mars] It felt kind of silly

to be recording something for Vogue

on a stack of books in my bedroom.

[Cynthia] It was late at night,

so I used one of my old videos.

I actually applied on the last day.

I applied at like 1:00 AM.

I just went to bed, closed my phone,

never looked at it again, to be honest.

[speaking in foreign language]

We got 67,243 applications.

We had to narrow that down to 1,000.

Then we brought it down to 100.

From 100 we brought it down to 50,

from 50 to 25,

and then from 25 we brought it down to eight.

Those were the final eight that got to go to London.

[Rayan] I think I was scrolling through my emails

and I saw Vogue and I just started screaming.

When I saw Vogue,

I literally started screaming in the middle of my house.

I couldn t believe it.

All I could do at that moment is jump up and down,

screaming in the streets of New York.

People were looking at me like, Are you okay?

[Mars] I actually found out that I was going to be

in the open casting after I got home from my barista job.

Mom, I don t know what s going on.

Vogue asked me if I m available.

Hi Vogue, my name is Abrar.

Hi Vogue, this is Rania.

My name is Mengyao.

My name is Cynthia Machava.

My name is Mars.

Hi, my name is Colette.

[speaking in foreign language]

I m Rayan El-Mahmoud.

[Ignacio] We wanted to give

all eight participants exposure

by giving them an opportunity to do a photo shoot

with Charlotte Wales.

That photo shoot was a global story

that ran in all of our October issues.

[Mars] My dad drove me to the airport

when I was flying to the shoot.

I got out of the car,

and he gave me a big hug and he was like, Go get Vogue,

and I was like, Yeah, I ll go get Vogue.

I never traveled on a plane before,

so it was my first time.

I used to work on Eurostar,

the train from Paris to London.

I took the train and I was seeing all my colleagues

and I m like, I m modeling now.

I m headed to Vogue.

[Rania] Arriving to the studio full of emotions,

full of stress, but also excitement.

[Abrar] See the cameras and the lighting.

I was just like, Wow, this is the big deal.

[Rayan] Everything was just so overwhelming.

[Mars] It s kind of like I ve been transported

into a different world.

[Colette] All these shoes, all these clothes,

and I see my name on the mood board.

It s just unbelievable.

[Rania] Honestly, I was in disbelief.

I m an Arab model.

Trying to be a model at Morocco is not very easy or simple.

[Abrar] As a hijabi model,

I was quite weary of the industry.

There s not many of us,

so I just thought perhaps the industry wasn t as welcoming.

A career in modeling would allow me

to be that representation

that I wasn t able to see when I was younger.

[Colette] I m 27, you can tell me nothing.

I ve been doing this since I was 14.

I got rejected.

I was skinny, then I wasn t skinny enough,

then I wasn t curvy enough.

It don t matter.

I m right here.

[Mars] I identify as queer and non-binary.

There aren t a lot of non-binary models out there.

There is an opportunity here

for me to bring a voice to my community.

[Rayan] In Ghana we don t really have

a huge modeling industry.

So I used up my little savings

to move around on my own to do collaborative shoots,

and then I started getting paid.

[Cynthia] From a very young age, I ve been modeling,

but it was for pageants.

Pageants are different,

but for me it s about gaining confidence,

and I was so confident about the shoot.

[speaking in foreign language]

[Mars] I was wearing this pink Gucci gown.

When I put it on, they were like,

You cannot sit down while you re wearing this.

[Rayan] There was a fan blowing my hair,

and I just felt like a supermodel in that position.

I even cried on set.

After seeing my picture,

I was so proud of myself

and I could literally see in the picture that I was happy.

My smile was very sincere.

That moment was precious to me.

[Mars] At the end of the shoot,

we did the big group shot where we were all in our robes.

[Rayan] We laughed a lot during that.

We had to put our heads close together

and find the perfect pose.

[Mars] It was this moment where we all got to do

what we were doing together.

[Rania] We were such a diverse group.

That really made me feel great.

[Mars] It was just a really nice way to close it out.

Since the shoot that we did,

most of the finalists have been signed with an agency.

Our talent group and myself offer help guiding them

through whatever they needed.

I hope that they have a long career in the industry.

I m in Vogue.

I m so happy.

I m facing the world.

It s me.

[all chuckling]

I m in Vogue.

Yes!