From Victoria Street to Victoria's Secret?

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July 20, 2013 - 6:02 AM

VANCOUVER MODELING AGENCY RECRUITING IN KAMLOOPS

KAMLOOPS - The next big supermodel could be working at Starbucks in Valleyview, walking down Victoria Street, or pumping gas at the Chevron on the way to Vancouver.

And the Lizbell Agency team will be keeping their eyes peeled in Kamloops next week until they head back home to 'Hollywood North.'

The Vancouver-based talent agency is holding a model call at Sahali Mall on Monday for those who think they've got what it takes to be a model. So if you're in the Okanagan and you see a future in the business — you might want to make your way to Kamloops.

But what brings the agency — which has groomed the likes of Sports Illustrated and Victoria's Secret Model, Kate Bock — to the Tournament Capital?

One of the agency's top staffers is originally from the 'Loops. But there's more to it, according to president and founder, Liz Bell, who calls Kamloops an 'untapped market.'

"Everybody starts from somewhere," Bell says. "So many of our girls come from little towns."

It's happened before. Evangeline Lilly, from the TV show LOST, was discovered by the Ford agency working at Earl's in Kelowna and Bell is looking for the next 'diamond in the rough' and hopes to nurture young talent into success stories.

It works like this: The agency will take photos and measurements of young people who fit the required specs, review them back at its home-base in Vancouver, give them a call and potentially take them on and put them to work.

"I would say every single model we have has worked and made money," Bell says, adding the agency doesn't make money until the model does. "It is a business for us, and we will only take somebody on that we feel has potential to be a supermodel."

It really comes down to whether you've got it or not — something Bell says she can tell right away since opening the agency in the early '90s.

"There is no grey area," she says. "The business is very much you either have it or you don't."

And not everyone does.

The industry comes with stereotypes, and well, some of them are true. The required specs are clear about that with regards to specific heights and ages. But Bell says it comes with the territory.

"You do have to fit into a box because of the sample-sized clothing," she says. "It's too competitive out there to have something that's going to hold you back."

While the industry can be tough on some, Bell's own experience as a model throughout the 80s taught her an important lesson: "I always say, 'Use this business and don't let it use you.'"

"I only want it to be an amazing experience for any model that's starting up," she says.

And in squashing stereotypes, Bell doesn't expect the next big supermodel to arrive on Monday wearing the latest fashion trends.

In fact, she wants a blank canvas. She doesn't even want makeup.

"Just absolutely natural," Bell says. "It's very, very simple."

And when she says natural, she means it — as in, no piercings or tattoos either.

"Moms love us," she laughs.

Bell is searching for a few specific things, however she says individuality is beautiful.

"It's so subjective, everyone is so different, that's the beauty of it," she says.

The Lizbell team will be assessing that individuality on Monday, but Bell knows talent is often found at unexpected times in unexpected places.

So don't be surprised if you're approached on the street by one of her staff.

"We could come to Kamloops and find the girl at the gas station."

The model call will be held at the entrance of Target on Monday from 2 to 4 p.m. Boys and those from outside Kamloops are also welcome. For more information on Lizbell Agency, visit them online.

To contact a reporter for this story, email: jwallace@infotelnews.ca, call: (250) 319-7494 or tweet: @jess__wallace.