This article was triggering for my own experiences as a model. I once did a job for Christian Dior Couture. Hiring me to wear a dress, stand in selfridges and sell perfume. Think the dress Charlize Theron wore in their commercial. Only metal and painfully heavy with 5 inch heels. All day people recognized me from TV. I signed autographs all day, on my feet for 14 hours. The job was for trade, negotiated by my very reputable agency in London. My miserable booker hated me, one thing led to the next, she had me shipped off to another country. While in Israel I sent many emails asking for help with issues I was having and asking for the Dior goods. I needed to sell the goods for bills, which was normal for me in those days. Her response was sheer evil. She admitted she and the bookers were keeping the clothes AND were leaving me for dead in the place they sent me with my own money - unapproved. They threatened me that if I said anything, my agency there would drop me too. I'm still traumatized by them. Other times clients would take 8 months to pay - it would be half the size of the promised check. On and on it went, until at 29 I threw my hands up and retired. 12 years since I officially left modeling and it was the best decision of my life. Almost every model I worked with had a story exactly like this, often worse. SO much was stolen from people who counted on the agencies to protect them. Often the agency would declare bankruptcy before they paid out to the models. And just rebrand the agency and get it running again weeks later. This happened to a close friend in Cape Town with almost $100k. You see it's a conflict of interest with the middle man, because if the client doesn't want to pay, then they lose them as a client when they have to get aggressive. Since the agencies are already making 20% off of you, why wouldn't they let the client not pay and keep them in good favor? That is how it was for many of us. The entertainment industries are the most predatory & the most corrupt especially against young people! The Guardian US - please do some reporting on the modeling industry claims of this exact same corruption. It is widespread and has affected so many of us! To finally see the amount of global thievery against models in the last 2 decades would be fascinating. How many have gone out of business only to still be in that same business? Bankruptcy reform while we are at it! One company solving for this in the fashion industry is SWIPECAST. This app allows talent to directly connect with brands. I am not sure how much protection they put in place if inevitably a client decides that they don't want to pay...maybe they pay up front. I'd think partnering with a strong legal team would make tech like this the strongest way to reform these agencies and industries whether they like it or not. And for those wondering my thoughts on Top Model, their predatory nature and royalties that will also be included in my memoire. So stay tuned!

Posted by MelRose Wild at 2024-10-16 18:44:48 UTC