Bobbi's Next Top Model

Professional Model Scout

I’ve become something of a model scout, looking for faces for campaigns, tv appearances and various projects. I’ve found potential models just walking down the hallway in my kids’ school for my first teen book, and at the front doors of restaurants where they work as concierges. I even met a model for Jones Road at a farm stand in the Hamptons. Another model I scouted in a restaurant in London sitting next to my husband and I.

What I look for in a model is hard to explain but she needs to be someone who can be photographed looking comfortable, with good energy, a great smile, minimal or no work done on their face, and just a natural, appearance. I’ve used friends, hairdressers, and photographers as models—you just never know who you’ll find. I want to highlight a few.

Here is Shona, who I scouted during COVID when I was looking for a model with salt-and-pepper hair and a natural stunning face. Shona was wearing a mask and probably wondered why I was bothering her. Her story is incredible, and I plan to do a “Woman You Should Know” feature on her. But right now, I just want to show you how she looks, how she photographs, and how great she looks just being herself.

Another model: Saraya. I saw her—I don't even know how many years ago—walking down the hall in middle school. I was working on my teen book "Beauty Rules," and I saw this beautiful girl with the most incredible smile and a gap in her teeth. I asked her to be in my book, and her picture in it is still one of my favorites.

Fast forward to a couple of years ago, I was looking for models for the Jones Road campaign. I walked into a local store and saw this  girl behind the counter. I said to her, "Wow, you should be a model for my new cosmetics company." She started laughing and said, "Bobbi, don't you remember me?" She had grown up but looked exactly the same. She's always one of my go-tos, and I love her so much. Here are some of my favorite pictures of her. Look at that gap and that smile. Her energy is infectious.

And this is a true story. About two years ago, my husband and I were having lunch at an Italian restaurant across the street from Harrods. As we do on vacation, we ordered a glass of wine, salad, and grilled  fish. We started smiling at the couple next to us. In European restaurants, you often sit almost on top of each other, so it was hard not to.

We started a conversation with Dawn and her husband Roderick, and they were so nice and funny. She was adorable. I said to her, "You really should come to our studio and be in a jones road campaign." Roderick laughed and said, "Yeah, right. My wife, a model? Come on. I think she's beautiful, but come on." We had a wonderful time together, and I reached out to her maybe a month later.

She came to New York, even though her husband said, "Bobbi will never call. There's no way. That's all baloney." But I did call. She came, had a ball, stayed at The George hotel, and we did her photos in the studio. She became one of our best-performing models, showing how makeup can totally enhance what you look like. Ever since then, we've been in touch. Every time I go to the UK, we go out for dinner.

On my last trip to the UK, I hadn't had a chance to call her, and while walking around our hotel, who did I see by the elevator? Dawn! I couldn't believe it, so she joined us for dinner. Now, I consider Dawn a friend. We talk regularly on Instagram, liking each other's posts about grandkids and children. I ask her where she gets her beautiful clothes, and it's always some very high-end brand, never Zara or UNIQLO.

Here are some great pictures of Dawn.

I met Agenia at a birthday lunch for my friend Deborah Roberts. I couldn't stop staring at her. She has that positive energy I love so much, and she's quite a beauty. I asked her to be in my campaign, and she said yes. She came in and stayed at our hotel. Agenia had a big job as the CEO of one of the Girl Scouts councils, and now she is the president of Fisk University. Here are some great pictures of her that I still love to post.

And this happened: I was at a dinner party for MasterClass, sitting next to this incredible woman and icon. I asked her if she would ever consider coming to 18 Label Studio and being a model for Jones Road. She said, "Absolutely, when?" I replied, "Next week." And she came.

Her name? Gloria Steinem. We treated her like all our models: she got her nails done with Roza, her hair with Louis, and her makeup with Cheyenne to start, followed by me on the set. We had a few different outfits. Gloria had a definite opinion about what she wanted to wear, what she was comfortable in, and how the makeup should look. She looked incredible, and for the last shot, she wore the Jones Road sweatshirt. She was amazing, and the whole team could not believe they were photographing Gloria Steinem. Here are some of my favorite pictures of her.

CHECK THEM OUT ON INSTAGRAM:

SHONA: Shonagee

SARAYA: Saraya_Smith10

DAWN: Dawnrevans1

GLORIA: GloriaSteinem