FMD: The AAU Graduate show has become one of the most highly anticipated shows in the emerging fashion industry. We would love to know your take on how it has evolved over the years.

Simon: The show is really a venue to present the designers work in the most professional way possible. Coming to California, and to the Academy, I brought my experience of working with the shows in Europe, and I feel that the designers deserve to have the same professional platform. When people come to the show, I want to transport them to New York, London or Paris. I know some people had a problem with that because the very first show I did for the University somebody said, “It was very nice, but where were the little black dresses?” I’ve always loved shows and I like producing; so I want to have fun with that.

FMD: You’ve had numerous prestigious guests, and scouts from different fashion houses and design companies attend the shows over the years. Do you think it provides opportunities for the models in the show?

Simon: I think our show is good for the models, especially the newer kids because they get excited that Alexander McQueen is in the audience, or Sarah Burton, or Azzedine Alaïa, or whoever it’s been over the years. I remember a few years ago an agent called me after the show and thanked me because they got so many requests to see one of their models, so it really acted as a giant casting or go-see. But, I think that’s different now; the industry has changed. 

FMD: In what other ways do you think the show benefits the models?

Simon: Because we run the whole system of the shows exactly as you would in any fashion week, it’s a good experience for the new kids to feel what it’s going to be like when they are out there on the circuit. I think the models really enjoy doing our show. Just because it’s fashion, people assume that you have to be rude; I’m just not into it, we have fun. I treat the models as people, not just things to put clothes on. I think that it somewhat empowers the models doing our show to have some kind of self-worth, and I think this is a good training ground for them. 

FMD: Talking about New Faces, you have a very good eye for spotting new talent. What is it that attracts your attention?

Simon: When Mackenzie Drazan was brand new, she did tons of stuff with us for the show and the magazine. There was no need to direct her. It felt like, yes she was a brand new face, but she didn’t act like one – she could move. There’s also a girl right now, called Tiffany, who was scouted a week before our show last year, and it was like somebody who’d been on the circuit for three seasons walked into the go-see.  I love seeing the local kids go off and make their way up.

FMD: What do you look for during your casting process? Do you have a particular format?

Simon: No, I think it’s just that there are certain people who can light up the room when they walk in. I know that I also book on personality. I don’t want to be around people that are not pleasant – and you can pick up on that really quickly. I mean obviously for show; walk and body are important, because of the clothes and the fit, but also, people who are coming to the show want to see people that can make the clothes look good in some way. Just the general vibe, the personality.

FMD: Personality is huge for a model’s career; being on set and working with clients.

Simon: Yeah, I mean I don’t want anyone that I’ve never met before to walk in and be like we’re best friends, but just to have something, and to know that they’re a really good person. When you do a show, you’re not just with somebody for half an hour, you’re with them all day and I want to make sure that there is a good energy backstage. 

FMD: What’s your view on the rates for models doing shows?

Simon: When I go to New York and see what the rates are for the new kids there, sometimes I think “can’t we give them a bit more?” But, that’s what it is, that’s the rate for this model at this particular moment in their career – and I respect that. It’s the boy rates in New York, they get next to nothing. I mean our rates are the same; boys, girls everything is the same. But, when I see a brand new girl getting $900 for a show, and a boy who’s been doing it for a while is getting like $500, I think that’s really harsh. They are working just as hard. It doesn’t really make sense to me.

FMD: Talk about The Walk!

Simon: Well, I don’t like anything too diva. I think out here they call it sassy. I’m not into that. I just want something really clean. I very often have to tell models to stop and walk as if they are just walking down the street. 

FMD: You also cast kids for the show. Is working with child models very different?

Simon: It’s working with the parents. At the casting they were all there with their cell phones, egging their children on to play up. I watch how the parents act because they are going to be backstage, and I’m like; the kid is going to lose out on a job if the parent is acting overbearing. Parents can make or break their child’s modeling career. There was a couple of mom’s whose kids did not get requested for fitting purely because of how they behaved. The kids were great. The kids were fun. I just didn’t want the parents backstage for eight hours… 

FMD: What is your direction or inspiration when casting for the shows in New York and San Francisco?

Simon: My direction for casting is, “Would these kids hang out? Do these kids look like they go to an art school in San Francisco?” Our students are coming in from all over the world; we’re really international and diverse. I’ve always wanted that in the casting, I’ve never been into traditional beauty. I use a casting director in New York. It’s important to find somebody that you can see eye to eye with, and have the same viewpoint. It’s easy in New York, because you have however many thousands of models trying to get into shows for fashion week.

FMD: How do you think casting effects the Industry, and vice versa?

Simon: If somebody puts a particular vibe on the runway, the next season, every agency has three of that model. It’s like right now if you don’t have a transgender model in your casting, you’re not being completely inclusive. I don’t ever want anyone to tell me that I have to book a certain type of model, because it is a trend, and it’s really disrespectful to call somebody’s skin color or gender a trend. We’ve had transgender models in our shows, but sometimes I haven’t found out until two days after, and it doesn’t matter. Now people in the Industry make it a big thing because they think it’s a trend. Transitioning your sex is not a trend. Skin color and gender should not be a trend. I try to be sensitive about all this. I want our students and the general public to see themselves on the runway. That’s why our shows will always be super diverse. 

FMD: What changes, if any, did you make to the production for this year’s graduate show?

Simon: We know that there needs to be a change in fashion and we’ve tried to bring change to the students with what they do, and you will see that in their collections. Also, the portfolio review is now the day before, and it really is an industry review, not a cocktail reception half an hour before the show. The education model that we’ve worked off has been handed down to us over the past eighty years, and everyone does the same thing but complains about it. I thought this year we’ve got to start breaking this mold, this expectation of what fashion education is. 

FMD: What do you see for shows in the future?

Simon: Something I wanted to do this year was to reduce the carbon footprint for the show, in any way shape or form. Again, another trend – everyone’s talking about sustainability, but I want to go deeper than that. Even transporting the collection from here to another venue is so unnecessary. If you think about the upcoming designer resort shows that will happen in some crazy location. Imagine how much money and carbon footprint those shows created flying two hundred journalists from wherever they are in the world! I think everyone needs to think slightly differently.
I want to do more in the way of moving image and photography. We’ve been doing that with the New York group. It’s had a really nice effect on them because they have different marketing collateral to use. A few years ago we did a stop-motion animation with one of the design students, which kind of brought the house down!
Last season I did a couple of things focused on movement and shapes with a model in New York. The video is ten seconds long, and I put it on Instagram and people were like: “OMG who shot that? That’s genius.” Well, it was just a film on my phone. I want to keep moving it forward and doing new things that people and the industry can relate to. It also has to be quick and easy because people are now just next, next, next. 

FMD:  So it’s social media and society’s need for instant gratification that is affecting the future of the industry?

Simon: That’s why nothing sells in the stores anymore. You see everyone’s Instagram of the collections, then next week you see them again, and you’ll say I don’t want to buy that, it feels really old, I want to see something new already. I’m trying to make things more containable. I really noticed during New York fashion week about five years ago, the lack of attention people have for the show. You see that people are not looking at the show. They are documenting everything from their phone. So you don’t even need to be there, as you just saw it through your screen. I get annoyed when I’m backstage; the shows about to start, I look up at my monitor, and all I see is everyone’s got their cameras up. I don’t see them paying attention. They are not present enough to look at all the work those kids have done to make the show. Just show them some respect, and enjoy it.