Models are speaking out about mistreatment in the industry, and OMG their stories are harrowing

Kitty Lindsay
Updated
Models are speaking out about mistreatment in the industry, and OMG their stories are harrowing
Models are speaking out about mistreatment in the industry, and OMG their stories are harrowing

“How do you, the model, want to be treated?” That’s the question posed to fashion industry professionals in a recent survey by Models.com — and it has inspired an outpouring of harrowing stories from models about mistreatment in the industry.

The survey was prompted by a very public calling-out by model casting director James Scully of the industry’s abusive business practices in February, when Scully reported on Instagram the “cruel” behavior exhibited by model wranglers behind-the-scenes at Paris Fashion Week. He alleged racism and “dangerous” mistreatment on the part of casting directors and the fashion houses they represent, and didn’t shy away from naming names.

So true to my promise at #bofvoices that I would be a voice for any models, agents or all who see things wrong with this business I'm disappointed to come to Paris and hear that the usual suspects are up to the same tricks. I was very disturbed to hear from a number of girls this morning that yesterday at the Balenciaga casting Madia & Rami (serial abusers) held a casting in which they made over 150 girls wait in a stairwell told them they would have to stay over 3 hours to be seen and not to leave. In their usual fashion they shut the door went to lunch and turned off the lights, to the stairs leaving every girl with only the lights of their phones to see. Not only was this sadistic and cruel it was dangerous and left more than a few of the girls I spoke with traumatized. Most of the girls have asked to have their options for Balenciaga cancelled as well as Hermes and Ellie Saab who they also cast for because they refuse to be treated like animals. Balenciaga part of Kering it is a public company and these houses need to know what the people they hire are doing on their behalf before a well deserved law suit comes their way. On top of that I have heard from several agents, some of whom are black that they have received mandate from Lanvin that they do not want to be presented with women of color. And another big house is trying to sneak 15 year olds into paris! It's inconceivable to me that people have no regard for human decency or the lives and feelings of these girls, especially when too too many of these models are under the age of 18 and clearly not equipped to be here but god forbid well sacrifice anything or anyone for an exclusive right? If this behavior continues it's gonna be a long cold week in paris. Please keep sharing your stories with me and I will continue to to share them for you. It seems to be the only way we can force change and give the power back to you models and agents where it rightfully belongs. And I encourage any and all to share this post #watchthisspace

A post shared by james scully (@jamespscully) on Feb 27, 2017 at 10:40am PST

But Scully’s account appears to be the tip of the iceberg. According to those who responded to the Models.com survey, poor working conditions, discrimination, body-shaming, and sexual abuse are just par for the course in the industry.

“I felt dizzy and sick at a 90-minute static presentation,” wrote respondent Sidney Gaston about the working conditions she suffered at London Fashion Week in 2016. “I went off the stage and told the casting director that I can’t keep going because otherwise I might faint while another model was throwing up three feet away from me. She told me I have to go on-stage otherwise I’m not getting paid. I wasn’t paid anyway.”

A post shared by models.com (@modelsdot) on Mar 24, 2017 at 10:57am PDT

An anonymous respondent described as a model of color “with curly hair” wrote,

“Sometimes, because I have a walk that exudes attitude or because I represent the diversity the industry needs, that in itself gets me declined jobs and should frankly be the opposite.”

Speaking about her experience as a young model, another anonymous respondent wrote, “I think one of the biggest problems with using girls under 18 on the catwalk is that they haven’t properly finished puberty and so if you’ve been modeling since then and then your body changes, the pressure that is put on you to return to your 14-year-old body is immense and I do not think it is healthy. Getting told you are ‘out of shape’ or ‘wide’ by agencies and clients because you have a 36″ hip instead of a 34” hip is ridiculous and potentially damaging to girls who are of an age when they are generally insecure.”

Perhaps most disturbing of all is model Fernanda Ly’s account of sexual abuse at the hands of a stylist.

“I was once shooting a lookbook where the stylist, helping me dress, used this chance to feel my body up much more than necessary and continued to do so throughout the entire shoot,” she wrote.

A post shared by @fernanda_ly_ on Jul 29, 2016 at 3:38pm PDT

And Ly is not alone. In 2009, designer Anand Jon was sentenced to 59 years in prison for raping models who worked for him, some as young as 14 years old. In 2014, fashion photographer Sean Colcough was jailed for sexually assaulting models in his studio. That same year, supermodel Kathy Ireland revealed that a photographer had sexually assaulted her in the early years of her career, when she was just 17.

For now, Models.com’s consciousness-raising survey provides a powerful platform for men and women to shine light on the ugly side of modeling.

According to one respondent, the answer to the survey’s singular question is simple: “We have to call on this system to change.”