Children audition for spot in upcoming fashion show
Wearing a plum-colored velvet and taffeta holiday dress, 4-year-old Samantha Byrne shyly crept down the runway stage. Stopping at the end, she paused, then whipped off her velvet jacket and flipped it over her shoulder to show off her dress.
The audience of parents and kids laughed.
“Work it, Samantha, work it,” said the announcer.
When her name was called, 4-year-old Ella Stephens ran to the catwalk, then took hesitant steps to the end. She stood there for a long moment, seemingly uncertain, then shot a shy smile to the judges.
Corbin Messina, 6½, coolly sauntered down the makeshift stage, one hand in his pocket.
From age 3 on up, in party attire and casual clothes, some with modeling experience, some with none, scores of children and adults showed up to audition for the 2004 Festival of Trees Fashion Show. The audition, held at the Coeur d’Alene Plaza, was divided into two sessions, first, girls and boys age 10 and younger, then everyone 11 and older.
Some professional models were already selected at an audition in Spokane, but the Festival of Trees wanted to recruit from the local community as well, explained Jeanne Norton, this year’s fashion show producer. She and two other judges were looking for 16 women, six men and eight children to model in the Nov. 29 luncheon and dinner Festival of Trees fashion shows sponsored by the Kootenai Medical Center Foundation. The Festival of Trees will benefit the North Idaho Heart Center.
“We’re looking for new faces, people that are comfortable on the runway, facing crowds,” Norton said. Dancing and singing ability is a plus. “We’re putting more entertainment in the shows. It’s not just fashion; it’s entertainment.”
Chanel Grutta, 5½, wanted to provide that entertainment. She expertly Hula-Hooped down the runway. “I have a Hula Hoop and I want to show how to use it. I know how to walk. I can jump,” Chanel said, listing her “modeling” qualifications.
“I love getting up in front of people,” said Hannah Huggins, 9. “Modeling is kind of like my thing.”
Has she modeled before? “No, but I’ve been in lots of plays.”
Lily Stephens, 6, attended last year’s fashion show with her mother. “It made me want to do it,” Lily said. “It’s really exciting to me.”
“When we were there, she said she wanted to be up there (on stage). She said she’d be famous,” said Jaime Stephens, Lily and Ella’s mother.
“Both my girls love to perform,” Stephens added. “They’re in dance. The older one is into fashion.” However, it was the younger daughter who chose her own clothes for the audition – a black turtleneck and leopard print skirt worn with black tights. “It’s my favorite,” Ella said.
Brothers Corbin and Spencer Messina, ages 6½ and 4, also auditioned for the Festival of Trees. Corbin already had some modeling experience under his 6½-year-old belt. He did some modeling at Riverpark Square in Spokane, did the Christmas Tree Elegance fashion show in Spokane and is represented on a modeling Web site, Pjandcompanymodels.com. For many moms and models the audition seemed to be more for entertainment than anything else. “I told (my girls) to look up, smile, walk and have fun,” Stephens said.