Castings aplenty on 'A Model Life'

All the dust's settled from the last episode's bit of drama and the girls are busy this week with a slew of casting opportunities and a photo shoot with the amazing Gilles Bensimon. I hope they all behave themselves …

We begin with Petra calling the girls to set up their meeting. She tells them all to bring their digital cameras. Shortly after, all the Models in Training get NEXTfaxes for catwalk castings Jenni Kayne ... except for Lucia since she and Tammy the Agent decided she wasn't quite ready to go out for them last week (Lucia reiterated that it's because they only want skinny girls for NY runway shows in a solo interview).

Once they meet Petra, she tells them what the lesson for this week is how to work with furniture. She explained the importance of being able to fit the mood of the setting, give different looks and work with the whole room. Splitting the girls into pairs, Petra directed the girls as to the mood they should be conveying – Beatrice and Lucia (a table and chair in a relaxed country/rustic setting), Abigail and Valeria (a sophisticated Moroccan setting with a chaise lounge), and Angelika and Michelle (a sensual setting with a bench by a window with a white curtain). She left the girls and gave them twenty minutes to do their mini photoshoots, telling them to watch each other's session. When she returned, she had the MITs print their photos and post them on the wall. They all did well and, as she went through them, showed the girls some additional poses they could've done. Petra also revealed that she wanted them to take the photos so they could relate to how a photographer thinks and thus improve the way they worked and posed. Afterwards, Petra tells the MITs that their next shoot will be with the renowned Gilles Bensimon, top photographer and Creative Manager of ELLE magazine. The girls are excited, but not excited enough to make me think they actually know who he is.

Next, all the girls (except Lucia) go to the Jenni Kayne casting and meet with Jessica La Sota, Casting Director. They all try on outfits, walk and get Polaroids taken. At the end, Jessica says Angelika stood out the most for her.

Morning comes and with it, so do more NEXTfaxes. They all have to go for a fitting for the Bensimon shoot as well as fittings and casting for other designers, which causes the MITs to stress out. At 11 a.m., Lucia and Valeria arrive at ELLE for their fitting with Francesca Mills, Style Editor. She informs them that she won't be making the final dress decision but will get the final few dresses set aside. Francesca leads them to the fashion closet and the girls try on a few dresses.

Meanwhile, Angelika goes for a fitting with Chris Habana. He's got a funky style and dig his stuff. They bond over Dungeons & Dragons as they both used to play. It was refreshing to see Angelika not be snarky.

Abigail and Beatrice are in a cab and lost, which is especially bad as Bea forgot her money. Luckily Abigail had some. The only problem is that, for $20, the cab took them the wrong way making them late for their fitting at ELLE. I feel so bad for Beatrice – she's always getting lost. They tell Luci and Valeria what happened once they get inside.

Michelle the Daywalker had two castings as well. She's the most stressed out about having the conflicting appointments. Understandable since she can't just transform into a bat and fly from one location to the other. She opted to go to Nicole Miller's runway fitting first. It went really well and it's off to the ELLE. She and Angelika arrive shortly after Abby and Bea, watching them follow Francesca in for their fitting. When it's Angelika and Michelle's turn, they lose Francesca in one of the hallways. While Michelle makes an effort to try and find her, Angelika is just leaning against the wall waiting for Francesca to come back and find them.

Because Abigail was so late for the ELLE fitting, it made her super late for her other casting which happened to be with Chris Habana. He tells the camera that normally he'd just tell the agency that she didn't show and move on, but three models already dropped out and he really needs Abigail. Her being late also put him behind schedule for the make-up and hair test. Bad day.

When she finally gets there, Chris gets her in the outfit, has Abigail walk and takes some photos. He's pleased. He takes her for the hair and make-up test and is super pleased with the outcome. Chris tells her that she better not flake, essentially, and that she's definitely in the show.

That night, Petra calls the MITs and tells them to "dress to impress" and meet her somewhere. Valeria opts not to go because she doesn't feel well and doesn't want to feel worse for the photoshoot the next day. The girls get gussied up and (sans Abigail who's still with Chris at this point) arrive at the address Petra gave them. It turns out to be a bowling alley. Dressed up herself, she tells the girls she really just wanted them to have fun. Abby meets them and a good time is had by all.

The next morning, Michelle, Abigail and Lucia look up Gilles' work on the internet to make sure they were familiar with him – very smart. The MITs go to the ELLE office and meet with Francesca and Isabel Dupre, Style Director. They go into makeup with Karl Giant (love him) and hair with Christophe Studio. While Bea is in the chair with Karl, he tells her what a big deal Bensimon is – didn't really know who he was. It's time like this that remind me how young Beatrice really is.

This was a really interesting shoot as Gilles talked to the MITs through each shoot, asking them random question and even having Abigail teach him how to speak with an English accent. It was very different and it makes me like Bensimon even more. The shoots were really quick as well – he basically kept clicking for two to three minutes straight and bam! He was done. All the girls liked working with him.

Photo review time!

• Angelika – Stephen really liked her photos since they were "soft and beautiful" and were different from all the other pictures in her book. I agree that she looked really good.
• Beatrice – Stephen and Tammy both agree that while she looks pretty and girly, there's still something "dead" about her eyes. She's just not connecting with the camera. I think Bea's problem is that she gets nervous during the shoots or something. I mean, she did great for the jeans catalogue she booked so I don't quite get why she can't turn it on consistently.
• Michelle – Her photos weren't great. They think she looks nervous and startled, which I understand because Gilles was asking her these random questions and I don't think she ever got into "model mode."
• Lucia – Her photos don't go over well for a change. Tammy's pretty harsh. She looked beautiful in the photos but Stephen remarked that she looked like she was posing for a painting. I guess there wasn't enough movement for their liking. Hers was also the only shoot where Gilles didn't talk a whole lot.
• Valeria – Stephen believes her shots to be "stunning" and I tend to agree with him. She had a great set of photos. Tammy's even impressed.
• Abigail – She had some great photos too. She looked a lot more relaxed and Tammy and Stephen agree that she's showed great improvement.

Stephen and Tammy want to being in Abby and Valeria to praise them for their work this week. Stephen also says that, at this point, they should start encouraging the girls and telling them what they're doing right as opposed to what they're doing wrong.

Later, Michelle calls Tammy to find out if she's doing the Nicole Miller show – she is. Unfortunately, instead of being excited, Michelle is petrified she's going to mess up.

NEXT WEEK: It's New York Fashion Week!