Russell Marsh: Model maker - Telegraph Mild-mannered Russell Marsh is the modelling world's backroom superman - as Prada's casting director he launched some of the biggest names on the catwalk. Now a free agent, he reveals what turns his head. He may have a weakness for The Archers on Radio 4 and a demeanour that's more professor than Pucci, but don't let that cosy exterior fool you. As Prada's casting director, 49-year-old Russell Marsh wielded the ultimate influence in the modelling world - a turn on the Prada catwalk seals a career - and Marsh has launched some of the most successful models in the business, including Lara Stone, Daria Werbowy and Gemma Ward. He has also spearheaded many of the casting trends in the industry (he predicts Dutch girls will be the Next Big Thing). But after a 15-year link-up with Prada, Marsh went freelance last year, working for the likes of Céline, Christopher Kane, Jonathan Saunders and Victoria Beckham. You can bet your bottom dollar that he'll be behind some of the most arresting casts during this show season. Phong Luu READ: The 25 most powerful people in fashion I primarily cast for fashion shows, although I have done campaigns in the past for Prada. I very much liaise with the designers - working out the running order, which outfits suit which girls - though I am rarely given a brief. It's always exciting working with someone like Christopher Kane because he has such unusual ideas for what he wants - his references aren't always obvious. He'll go for girls who remind him of someone he went to school with, or with an attitude that evokes a character he grew up with. I am always asked about what I look for, but I find it hard to put into words. Casting is such an instinctive thing. I adore Lara Stone. She looks like something out of a Vermeer painting. I saw beauty, but I also saw imperfection, which is what I like about the gap in her teeth. There was a feeling that she was insecure about it; there's something wonderful about seeing the beauty in people that they themselves don't necessarily see. Lindsey Wixson is extraordinary - she looks like a Tiny Tears doll. Daria Werbowy has that aristocratic, androgynous look I love. I suppose that's why Miuccia Prada hired me - I had a specific taste that connected with hers. That's not to say I didn't go against type at Prada by casting Lara, Alessandra Ambrosio, Miranda Kerr and all those Victoria's Secret girls in the autumn/winter 2010 show. It's about reacting to what feels right at the time. People say I started the trend for eastern European girls, but I'm only responding to what the agencies are sending. There was a craze for Brazilian models in the mid-1990s; at the moment, there's demand for that very healthy, sporty look - which is what the Dutch girls offer. You see a lot of beautiful girls on the streets. That was what was great about the shows in the 1980s; designers would cast from the streets. When I started out in 1985 as an assistant to Mikel Rosen, who was producing fashion shows for who I consider to be the most influential designers at that time, such as Jean Muir and Body Map, it was a lot more diverse. Body Map, for example, didn't use models, but friends. The shows weren't shows in the sense they are now, they were much more performance. Models were encouraged to express their personalities; Pat Cleveland would twirl down the runway at Montana or Mugler. You don't see that any more. I think that robotic, single-file presentation started in the early 1990s grunge period, with designers such as Calvin Klein, Jil Sander and Marc Jacobs, perhaps as a reaction to what had gone on before. Working for a house like Prada does open doors - agents will keep girls they think are special and only show them to specific people. But I can't dismiss the girls until I've seen them, in case I miss the next big thing. When I cast for the shows in New York, London, Milan and Paris - I do up to 15 per season - my two assistants and I see 400-450 girls. I then present an edited selection that could be appropriate to each designer - they can use up to 40 girls for their show. Each designer will use a different selection, but there are certain girls who cross over and work on all shows. When I first worked for Prada, the shows were much smaller, but the collections bigger - I would cast 15 girls, and they'd change and they'd change. London has never been an obvious pit stop for the girls. There is never any money, so they bypass it. Even Alexander McQueen couldn't bring in the big girls. They'd go to Milan, where the money was, and skip London, pretty much the same way they do now. Those who come, such as Karlie Kloss, Joan Smalls and Liu Wen, do so because they like the spirit of the city. For me, London is one of the most exciting places to work because of the range of designers we have here. It doesn't faze me that I can't use 'names', as it spurs me on to look harder - Agne Konciute, for example, was a discovery who went on to do well in Paris last season. When I was doing Sass & Bide in London for the first time last September, I was casting on the day from girls who had flown in straight from New York. You're up against all sorts of other problems. Some girls get taken out of London to go to castings in Milan for a show they're not necessarily going to get. But you just have to get on with it. Milan has its own issues to deal with, too. When I was doing Prada, top girls were being offered a lot more money to go and do the shows in Spain. The rates for shows haven't changed much since the 1990s. It starts from about $1,000 per show, depending on the client, but, as far as I'm aware, the money isn't there now to be paying $10,000 that supermodels such as Linda Evangelista were getting. Maybe they were paid more because they were using fewer girls then. In Paris models don't get a lot because they have to pay so much tax - and it is probably the most hardcore of all the weeks because of the sheer number of shows. A lot of the bigger girls, like Natasha Poly and Daria, get to a point where they're moving to the next stage of their careers and don't want to do them any more because they're so intense. The girls spend a huge period of time on a strict programme getting ready for the shows; they train at the gym and they eat a well-balanced diet. Being a model is like being a ballet dancer: it's a profession where your body has to be fit and toned. There are a few girls who eat as much as they like without putting on weight - but most have to work at it. If I see someone who looks like they're not looking after themselves, I flag that up with the agencies. I wouldn't work with a girl who I feel looks underweight, because I'm responsible for those girls; you can't do this job without caring about the people you work with.