Shawn:(posted 8838 days ago)It sounds to me like you're spending way too much time thinking about models and nowhere near enough about the rest of the shoot.
There are all sorts of people modeling today and you should be prepared to make fashion photos of all of them. (since that's your career goal)
Try the designer thing. Meet them and see the clothes and go from there - this is the way real fashion shoots are done. And for that matter, this is how real fashion photographers get work!
I suggest you don't pay models unless you have paying work, this will create far more problems than it will solve.
Brian