Day in the Life: as a Casting Director

Whether you’re at the helm of a fashion brand or as producing parties attended by the who’s who of industry folk, a lot of job roles in the creative industry are often overly glamorised. While plenty of positions do have their perks – including classifying as ‘a cool job title’ – daily admin, logistical work and other unspoken aspects are what make up the majority of these roles. FMR’s Day in the Life series is here to give you insight into what a regular day could look like; next up, is casting director Troy Fearn.

Under his eponymous casting company, Troy has found the faces for runway shows, collection campaigns and fashion editorials. With London Fashion Week just around the corner, we asked Troy to give us a glimpse into a casting director’s day, working on the WoodWood runway show during Copenhagen Fashion Week.

10:30am: Wake up in Copenhagen! Get ready for the day.

11:30am: Sit and check emails, double checking spreadsheets and headshot boards have the correct details (models arrival times and contact details). Checking in with the Wood Wood team and being prepared for the day!

12:30pm: Head downstairs to the lobby and wait for the car. Round up the team and head to the location.

1:30pm: Arrive at the beautiful set overlooking the Inner Harbour of Copenhagen. Backstage was a little boat restaurant – super cute. I meet the team: the stylist, producers, hair and makeup artists (it’s super important to greet everyone!)

2:30pm: Models start to arrive, take note of who’s here, send them to get snacks and put them in for hair and makeup. I’m greeting models while also chasing agents and checking with models that they’re arriving at their call times.

3:30pm: Nightmare moment! Receive a call that one of the models is stuck at the border! Mission save the SHOW! I discuss with the producer and figure out how to get them in. Bad news: model isn’t making it through. I then hunt for a replacement; email Copenhagen agencies for urgent in town models who can replace. Must find a model!!!!!

4:30pm: Replacement found! I street-cast a model who is in town, and get them to set ASAP. All while chasing models who are late or should be making their way to the set.

5:30pm: The replacement model arrives – everyone can finally breathe! I then continue greeting models and getting them prepped and ready. Take BTS shots.

6:30pm: The rehearsal is approaching, so I conduct the last check ins with the remaining models to arrive on set.

7:30pm: Rehearsal time. I get models into the lineup, making sure everyone knows who is standing in front of them. I then fix models back into the lineup for the finale. Rehearsal complete

8:30pm: Show time! Check everyone is getting dressed, while dodging the camera crew and press. Once the models are dressed, I direct them to the start line and fix them into the lineup, grabbing pictures here and there before the show starts.

9:00pm: Show complete! I pack up and head to the after party 🙂