Model Selection Quotes

I'm very particular who I work with. I'm not interested in portraying women with a cliched, generic look. I'm interested in a model who I can take a portrait of.

You can build a statistical model and that's all well and good, but if you're dealing with a new type of financial instrument, for example, or a new type of situation - then the choices you're making are pretty arbitrary in a lot of respects.

I was sitting at home one day and I got a call that Riccardo Tisci was considering me for the face of the Givenchy Spring/Summer 2014 campaign, and I said, "Are you kidding?" and that was the end of the conversation. I'm a really big fan.

What I don't like to see is when models of different races come in and out of fashion.

The Guess Guy has to have a masculine presence and project a strong personality as a counterpoint to the sensuality of the women in the campaigns. With Tom Skerritt, I think people thought he was an interesting - maybe not the most obvious - choice for a Guess campaign. However, I felt he had that perfect combination that was right for the brand.

To understand something, whether we are aware of it or not, depends on choosing a model. We get to understand what we see by comparing it with something else, something that we think we understand better. But what we compare it with turns out to have a huge influence on the outcome.

I like Valentino a lot - they never use actresses in their campaigns.

Most of our models have just walked in off the streets, although I also find them on countless trips to Europe - particularly Scandinavia. I operate by instinct. It's a process I cannot explain, but the prettiest girl on the block is not always the best model.

There are so many factors involved in picking a model for a shoot or show. If they want a brunette, then they're not going to go with me.

I create the concept, which for me is about deciding upon the right girl and the right 'spirit', and thinking of all the things that visually describe her. It's just like putting together a fashion show; for me, that starts with the spirit and the girls as well.

The Guess girl always combines sensuality with class. She's sexy and voluptuous, but not in a vulgar or cheesy way. Over the years, whether it was when I first saw Laetitia Casta, Eva Herzigova, or Anna Nicole Smith, the common thread when choosing the next Guess girl was an instant feeling in my stomach that she was the one.

I was the Playmate editor for 'Playboy' for two years. I produced two years' worth of centerfolds. I did everything on that, from picking the girls to designing the sets to picking the wardrobe, coming up with themes, assigning the photographer, down to editing the photos and approving the retouching.

I really prefer light-eyed models, They photograph more easily. Of course, I come from a light-eyed background, so maybe that influenced my taste.

You'll find that street casting in America is a lot different than street casting in different nations.

If you just have a single problem to solve, then fine, go ahead and use a neural network. But if you want to do science and understand how to choose architectures, or how to go to a new problem, you have to understand what different architectures can and cannot do.

Since the day we started Guess, the brand has always stood for young, sexy and adventurous, and it is these same qualities that I look for in the models that become Guess Girls. They also have to look healthy.

I can't add above 10, I can't draw a stick figure, and I'm tone deaf. So I had to be able to do something. I found that something was picking successful models.