The Realities of the Fashion Modeling World

[Anonymous]

Every semi-decent looking human being has at one point thought about becoming a model. The modeling world seems so easy and glamorous with an agency jetting you around the world to the most beautiful cities, in the most exotic locations, or you're walking in Fashion Week around the world, where all you have to do is turn up and legitimately shut-up, stand there, and look pretty.

The reality for the average model, which if you are lucky to even become a model--you will be average--is no where near glamorous. You have to hustle all day long to get work if anyone will even hire you, you live in a crap apartment, you work in a cruel and unfeeling industry a lot of the time, and at the end of it, you may be saddled with a pile of debt.

Your Body

There is no point crying over this one, because you already know that models need to have a certain body type. It's their job to look this way, and if you can't cut it, you will not win this fight because in the fashion industry clothing is fit to one size to save time/money. If you can't fit that, they have no clothes for you. It's about achieving a uniform look for all the models that walk down that runway or show up to a fitting.

Age for men/women: you need to be between the ages of 16 and 21. Agencies will rarely take anyone out of this range except the occasional 15 year old or the occasional 22 year old who looks 15.

Height and Dimensions for Women: between 5’9″-6″, your bust needs to be between 32″-36″, your waist between 22″-26″, and your hips should be between 33″-35″. This is average; you can skew a little this way or that, but the reality is, not by a lot. Tall, thin, small boobs, small hips, small waist, small butt. (see the trend)

Height and dimensions for Men: is between 5’11”- 6’2″. You need to fit a 40″- 42″ Regular Jacket. No surprise, you need to be in great shape which in the male modeling world means lean without too much muscle and the classic Martini glass shape with a broad shoulder leaning in towards a slimmer waist and not a lot of thick muscles on the leg.

Ethnicity: another reality of the business is the VAST majority of models who are chosen for top magazines and runways are Eastern Europeans or of European descent. For Fall 2016 fashion week, of all the models strutting down the runway, 75.25% were white, 9.22% were black, 7.48% were Asian, 0.28% were Middle Eastern, and 5.31% were other. Of the four major cities, NY Fashion week was the most diverse with 32% non-white models. However, London 80% white, Milan 80% white, and Paris 78% white, haven't made much if any improvement on diverse casting---again, I only say this to prepare you for this reality of the business at present.

Money, money, money

The short of it, is the average salary for working models is around $26,000.

If you're lucky, an agency will pluck you out of a Starbucks somewhere, tell you you've got what it takes, pay for your modeling shots, and then send you out to book jobs. Okay, now that your fantasy of that happening is over, you will need to pay for your own modeling shots and comp cards and put your book together. IF...yes...IF you're booked, an agency will usually fly you out somewhere like a New York where they will put you up in a model apartment which sounds awesome, but in actuality, it's a sh*t studio apartment where they've crammed in 4 beds to an apartment meant for one or two.

Here's the tricky part---agencies are funding this travel so far, this apartment so far, a few dollars here and there on contract, that says you WILL book jobs and repay them. Their job as an agency is to get you into the door of as many castings as possible, but if you aren't booking anything, guess who's going to get kicked out? Guess who will have to repay back all the travel and rent??? Even if you do book something here and there and are lucky, remember, you must pay your agency first before you even see a dime. So you may book 5 jobs, but if the cost to fly you out to Paris, and Milan, and pay for the taxis, and pay for the again, sh*t hotel rooms with 4 other models, is more than what you're making, you're not going to see much of the money, if anything. Because of this, many models go into serious debt.

If you are a male model, also know that even the best paid male models in the industry do not even make nearly as much as the highest paid female models because in this business women are not only the majority consumers, but there are simply more products and clothing options for women to model vs. their male counterparts, and magazine cover vs. cover, women's covers sell more.

Mistreatment

If you're expecting someone to hold your hand, forget about it. Once you sign on the dotted line, a modeling agency practically owns you. There is no regulation in this industry, no union, there is no insurance, there is no therapy, or HR, there is no oversight committee for the protection and welfare of models. Something happens to you, you're on your own. You have zero leverage because if you just do me a quick favor, and turn your head there just a bit and look over your shoulder, you'll see the literally thousands of younger, thinner, leaner, taller, an equally unique looking people waiting to take your place meaning in their eyes, you are very much expendable.

Sexual abuse, drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorders, scamming...it's all there. It was reported that 64 percent of models were asked to lose weight by their agency. As for sexual harassment, 30 percent of models reported inappropriate touching on the job, and 28 percent reported being pressured to have sex with someone at work. Keep in mind we're sometimes talking 15, 16, year old kids, not just adults. Think about this one: "U.S. models are often considered independent contracts, and therefore unable to sue employers for sexual harassment under federal law."

Not saying it 'will' happen to you, but be aware. Also know that you are to be treated in this industry, as someone meant to be a silent obedient doll to be poked and prodded and treated like a ghost in a room full of people who act as if you have no ears..and no feelings. Complain if you want, but you'll not be booked again. If you don't have a thick skin, forget this industry because it WILL destroy you.

Your Typical Day

A typical day during the busy season, especially early on in your career if you even have one, should be labeled REJECTION, but we'll call it go sees. You take your comp cards, and your book with all your work, bottle of water and snacks, and your agency will send you out on your own dime, to your go sees or castings. All day long from sun up to sun down you show up to sometimes like 20 go sees a day during the busy season, strip down (yeah, there is no such thing as privacy or a changing room, so get used to that too), get measured, do short videos for the designer, you may try on clothes, and walk, and either rush to the next one or wait for the next one to begin. After all that day in and day out, you may get nothing. That's hard for anyone's ego to handle because your looks basically aren't going to change and there is nothing you can do about whether they like you or not or in the case of lack of diversity, it may be a case of they were never going to hire you in the first place.

[DapperMelody]

Are you in the industry?