6 minute read
The Dark World of Modeling
AN INSIDE LOOK INTO THE DARK SIDE OF THE MODELING INDUSTRY Written by Emily Fleming, Creative Direction Assistant • Photographed by Bela Orzechowski, Staff Photographer • Modeled by Ella McCue and Chelsea Hylton
While the world of modeling appears full of glamour, we rarely see the dark side of what goes on behind the scenes. For years, the modeling industry has had a long streak of mistreating its models and many have begun speaking out about the abuse and discrimination they have endured. While this is not indicative of every model’s journey in their career, many have attested to experiencing financial, sexual, and emotional exploitation, as well as discrimination due to their race and body type.
When young models sign contracts with agencies, they often sign away their freedoms. Models usually retain full legal responsibility, meaning if things go awry with a client, they would get personally sued instead of the agency they work for. Agencies also take money through agency fees, which are usually 20% but can climb up to 75% in France.1 In addition, if a model doesn’t comply with changing their look to fit an agency’s exact wants, or if someone “better” comes around, they can be dropped within seconds.2
Due to the lack of regulations in the modeling industry, models often have very little autonomy over their time, schedules and earnings. They can go months without a paycheck, and be overworked in ways that would be deemed unacceptable in other industries. It can be easy to
1 “12 Things This Model Wants You to Know about the Dark Side of Fashion.” Healthista, 2019. 2 Ibid. get taken advantage of, seeing as models are often scouted at young, impressionable ages, and in order to succeed they must often let agencies control not only their pay, but also their eating habits, and appearance.3
Just as financial exploitation runs rampant within the modeling industry, so does sexual assault. The culture tells young models they need to be compliant and cooperative, and the pressure of one casting having the ability to make or break a career gives way to photographers taking advantage of them in a vulnerable state. Asking models to take their clothes off and pose nude is common, but can toggle the line of professional and inappropriate. Sara Ziff, a model who started her career at just 14 years old, details a time when a photographer asked her to be alone in the room with him and undress completely as he took pictures.4 This behavior is not limited to photographers— many men of higher positions in the fashion industry abuse their power by taking advantage of young models.
The toll of sexual and emotional abuse can take a long time to heal. Models are supposed to be accustomed to hearing they are too skinny one day, to being too fat the next, with every insult possible thrown at them in between. Gisele Bundchen, one→
3 “Runway Injustice: How the Modeling Industry Exploits Young Workers.” CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 2021. 4 Olivia Fleming is the former Features Director at HarpersBAZAAR.com. “Models Share Stories of Sexual Assault in the Fashion Industry.” Harper’s BAZAAR, 2017.
of the highest paid supermodels in the world, has faced her fair share of rejection after being sent away from 42 modeling agencies at the beginning of her career.5 Her first big show was Alexander McQueen Spring/ Summer 1998, where she burst into tears after being told she would have to walk topless in the show. If the makeup artist hadn’t come up with the idea to paint her body, she could have left and her career could have never taken off.6
Another world famous supermodel, Joan Smalls, details her experience with the first agent she met, who told her she had to straighten her teeth. When she asked why she had to but other models didn’t, he said “well, Joan, because you’re black, and that is already going to be a difficulty in this industry.”7 Not only was she rejected from many shows because “they had already booked a model of color,” but she also was often told her hair was “too difficult to work with.”8 According to a diversity report, Spring 2019 was “the most racially diverse fashion month ever,” with “36.1 percent of all castings across New York, London, Milan, and Paris [going] to models of color.”9 Compared to a report done in 2016, where 78.2% of models in fashion spreads were white and only 8.3 percent were Black, 4 percent were Asian and 3.8 percent were Hispanic, this is a step in
5 Truman, Isabelle. “11 Supermodels That Have Been Rejected In Their Careers.” ELLE, 2020. 6 Klerk, Amy de. “Gisele Bündchen Recalls Almost ‘Running Away’ from the Show That Kick Started Her Career.” Harper’s BAZAAR. Harper’s BAZAAR, 2018. 7 Macalister-Smith, Tilly. “Joan Smalls on Race, Rejection and Refusing to Take No for an Answer.” London Evening Standard | Evening Standard. Evening Standard, 2017. 8 Ibid. 9 “Report: The Spring 2019 Runways Were the Most Racially Diverse Ever, but Europe Still Has a Major Age and Body Diversity Problem.” theFashionSpot, 2019. the right direction. Yet there is still ample progress to be made in ensuring that every model has equal opportunities and is treated with respect by industry professionals. Smalls, much like many other Black models, had to fight for her place within the modeling industry, and is continuing to work to address the discrimination and injustice that minorities still face.
Coco Rocha, another supermodel who has been working in the industry for over 15 years, has been open with her experience with late payments, pressure to lose weight, and sexual assault. Despite having walked for brands like Chanel, Dior, Miu Miu, and more, and having appeared on the cover of Vogue and many other top magazines, she has lost jobs for speaking out about sexual harassment. By opening the Coco Rocha Model Camp, she has made it her mission to educate young models on how to navigate the industry and take control of their own careers. She also believes “the industry is trying very hard to open up and show diversity if that’s skin color, nationalities, religion, weight, size, which is great. We’re slowly getting there.”10
The days of models getting pressured into drug use, plastic surgery, and eating disorders are hopefully nearing their end. Not only is promoting unhealthy body image and racial conformity harmful to models, but it is harmful to children and young adults who grow up watching fashion shows and reading magazines. Every woman that stands up for diversity, inclusion and respect in the industry is standing up for the next generation of young women and models. ■
10 Seid, Shayna. “Coco Rocha Lost Modeling Jobs From Speaking Out Against Sexual Harassment.” StyleCaster. StyleCaster, 2019.
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Directed by Sarah Troy, Fashion Director Photographed by Jessica Tenenbaum, Staff Photographer, and Luc Marchessault, Contributing Photographer Modeled by Kelly Rash and Sarah Troy Design by Annika Ide, Photography Director
