Casting director Emma Matell has a knack for finding arresting faces, through a casting process which could be likened to method acting for her willingness to go into the field. This was exemplified most recently in Diesel’s AW22 campaign, which featured models found by Matell in the various clubs and bars of Manchester. “I had the most memorable time going for a long weekend, street casting, dancing, and making new friends,” she said in June, when the euphoric, hedonistic rave-inspired shoot was unveiled. What stands out about her models is not only their beauty, but their distinctiveness – something that’s particularly important to Matell.
Born in Copenhagen but based in London, Matell aims to bring visibility to the bodies and identities that have historically been absent from mainstream fashion and editorial campaigns. It’s this, in part, that makes her casting – and thus the shoots she works on – so interesting, and, if her résumé is anything to go by, coveted. Matell has worked with the likes of legendary fashion houses Gucci, Vivienne Westwood, as well as some of fashion’s most exciting new designers, like Sinéad O'Dwyer, and photographers Harley Weir, Sharna Osborne, and more. A rising star in the industry, she’s leading the charge when it comes to radical, progressive casting.
Text Brit Dawson
