So let’s begin with a truth — a fact of life. In order to be a successful fashion model, you must fit the bill. You need to be at least 5”7,’ have striking features or be the classic American beauty, and you need to wear 0 to 6 and no larger. You also need to have good skin, good nails, and good hair. If you are shorter than 5”7′, your chances of finding work in the fashion world will drop drastically and if you wear above a size six, it is equally unlikely that you will succeed in fashion.
Perhaps it would be best if we looked at the basic question — what is fashion?
The best way to explain this is to go to a local newsstand and look at the fashion magazines. Vogue and W are the queens of these magazines and there many, many more. As you will see from a quick glance at these magazines, fashion is all about clothing — all about selling clothing. It is a business, and you, the model, are a living mannequin.
The fashion business is no longer about art these days. Maybe some of it is, but that’s the exception and not the rule. It is, as I said, about selling. Unfortunately, fashion magazines eventually became very predictable and the only way they stay in business is through their advertising. This, however, led to everyone copying each other and made for dull magazines. Things changed in the early 90’s when there was a burst of edge brought into the scene thanks to Versace, Calvin Klein and a few others who pushed the limits. Now the fashion world has moved from edgy art and is using sex to push the limits.
To be successful in fashion, you need to bear in mind that editors of fashion magazines look for models who will communicate the magazine’s image. The look of what is popular at the time will usually dictate what kind of models they use. Agencies pick girls they think have the look or the face that the editors and clients they work for will want to use for their products. You are judged not by yourself, but, rather, by their standards — standards which have been decided in advance and over which you have no control.
As a result, so many girls get broken hearts when they are rejected by the agencies. And that brings me to my first point: Modeling is a business. It is a job. Nothing more; nothing less. The sooner you understand that concept, the easier it will be for you. As with all business decisions, you need to weigh the pros and cons. You may not be what a particular market wants, but, remember, there are many markets out there, so sometimes it is just about finding your place.
The best way to get started in fashion is at the local level. There are local agencies in almost every city and in almost every state. These are often a good place to start as they can often point you in the right direction. In order to find a local agency, you can look online at resources such as http://www.modelresource.com or http://www.fashionbook.com/home.html or do a yahoo search for local modeling agencies.
Agencies work in a network and it is a pretty tight-knit community. Agencies from all over the world exchange models so if you start in a local market, they will groom you to go to a larger market when they feel you are ready for that experience. Agencies in a local market will also help build your book and get you placement. Your local agency often becomes your mother agency and your mother agency is often the one that will guide you to the larger markets when they feel it is the right time for you. They will at first work you within the local market to see how you do. Then, once you prove you’re serious, they will send you to a larger market. Agencies tend to be very choosy about who they will pick up so a girl who only cares about partying will be kicked out and or dropped pretty quickly. As I said, it is a business. If you want to party, be a bartender, not a model. (Also, as a model, you should take care of your body which means getting lots of sleep and not staying up till four a.m.)
Once an agency takes you in, they will spend time trying to help you build your book. You do not need a book to get an agent. Many scams are based on people telling models that they need to spend hundreds of dollars to build a book before they get an agency. A good agency will set you up with the best photographers in town who will usually charge a few hundred dollars with all the makeup styling and hair included. When your agency recommends a photographer to you, feel free to ask if you can go meet with the photographer beforehand and check out the photographer’s work. I think that all models should do this for a few reasons.
The first reason relates to this being a business. You are HIRING him to shoot you. You should make sure you get a good vibe and that you like his work and that you click. Also, it helps to meet in person beforehand so they can get a better sense of your personality, as well as you, feel. This will make it easier for them to work with you. When you go to meet the photographer, take any images you feel are good and that you like. When you go to meet a photographer, don’t go alone. Have someone with you even if they stay outside or wait in the car. Photographers are usually wonderful and professional, but not always. When meeting a photographer, dress as yourself. Don’t wear a ton of makeup, Make sure your hair is clean and simple. Also, feel free to bring tearsheets with you. You should sit down with your agency and discuss what they want you to shoot beforehand because if you shoot something sexy and the agency wanted something clean, no one will be happy, so make sure you have a discussion with your booker/agent about what they are hoping for you to get out of the shoot and then talk it over with the photographer. Sometimes if a photographer really likes working with you, they will shoot you for free. If you’re a good model, a test can open many doors. I went to test with a photographer in Milan and that test led to several more free tests, an editorial and a few paying jobs, so you never know where it could lead.
After testing, the photographer will give your agency proof sheets or a disk with the images. Then you and the agency will sit down and go through all of the material together and choose the images they feel will market you to their clients in the best way. Sometimes you may not like the images they choose, but the reality is that it is up to the agency, so just let them choose what they think will market you best.
Once you choose the images, you will need to make prints. They will either send you to the lab or to the photographer and you will pay anywhere from ten dollars to thirty dollars for a good print. Once you get prints, I advise that you scan them, and then take them to be made into laser copes. Keep the lasers in your book that you take around with you and keep the originals either safe with your mother or with the agency. Now, most agencies will provide you with a book. A book can cost between twenty and one hundred dollars. You will need to pay for this and take care of the book.
The agency will also keep a copy of your book, so it would be best for you to make two laser copies — one for them and one for you. (Having a third copy is always good too because sometimes people want to take one or more often than not something gets spilled on it.)
After getting a book, the next thing you will need is comp cards. Comp cards are your calling cards. The agencies send these out to their clients, to photographers, to editors and so on. Comp cards usually cost between fifty and a hundred dollars a pop. An active, big agency will distribute a few hundred comp cards each month, so you can see that they can add up. If an agency advances you the costs of your comp cards, you will need to pay them back.
And that brings me to the next topic — advances. Models are often in the dark about these things because they don’t ask enough (or the right) questions. An agency may advance a model money, but they are not giving this to you so remember, if you don’t get enough bookings, the agency will expect you to pay them back. Some models have received bills for thousands of dollars and had no idea that they would be responsible for paying these monies back.
Let me give an example to illustrate this point. If an agency in Milan agrees to take you, they will put you up in a model hotel (between $400-$800 US), give you subway cards, maps, comp cards, and so on. They may even advance your airfare ($600-$1500 US) and give you a living allowance. Now, you may think you’re flying high and living the good life, but guess what? At the end of your three months there, if you didn’t work and make money, you could be looking at a bill for $4,000, which the agency expects you to pay back. As security to get reimbursed, some agencies will keep a copy of your passport and drivers license or, more often than not, they hold your actual passport if you are staying in their models apartment.
Now, lets suppose you do work and you make $8,000, after repaying the agency its expenses and commissions, you may go home with $1,000. How does this happen? Well, let’s break this down. Modeling agencies typically take as a fee twenty percent from you and twenty percent from the client, which means a total forty percent. In markets like Milan, they may take fifty percent. In each market, they take different amounts. In order to get a sense of how much money you may or may not make, you need to ask your booker these questions: How much will they be taking? How much are comp cards? How much is the model apartment? How much is airfare? And so on. Models need to keep up with these things so you don’t end up stuck in a bad situation.
Now, many models end up finding a rich boyfriend. In fact, it is encouraged in the modeling world. I will never forget when my booker looked at me and said, “So you need a rich boyfriend here to take care of you. I know plenty.” Well, I was in a relationship with someone I loved very much so I said, “No thank you. I will starve.” I didn’t starve, but it was a much harder path than playing the model who latches onto a rich boyfriend just to pay the bills.
So let’s talk now about the reality of having a boyfriend just to get the bills paid. If you’re with a man only for money and he’s with you only because of your looks, you will not have the best relationship. It is better to be a hard working model than to use someone. If you are a model whose parents are not supportive, or you are a model who, like me, came from nothing, there are many ways to make money. Ask your agency about working promotions or about working within the agency or if they know of other work opportunities. You can often work a part-time job and model at the same time. Or, you can wait tables as many struggling models do. If you are comfortable doing nudes, there is art modeling or figure modeling. I have known many models who used these avenues to pay the bills during the low times.
But back to business. I was having a long conversation with a model and she told me how she was working to support her modeling. I would tell her to give it a few years and she could not break even within a few years, maybe she should consider doing something else. Now, there are a lot of other things models can do if they cannot make it in fashion modeling. There is promotional modeling, fit modeling, acting and commercial modeling, just to name a few.
I was an artist, so I spent a lot of time doing different types of modeling and this made me a bit unusual because many models tend to get stuck in one type of modeling. To me, a good model can do anything from art to fashion, from stock to commercial. Don’t limit yourself to just fashion. Check out acting and commercial modeling as well, or fit modeling or art modeling. There are many ways besides fashion to make a career as a model.
Next topic: money. Let’s begin with editorials. Editorials are magazines like Vogue, Surface, Paper and so on. You may look at the models in the magazines and think they are making millions of dollars. Some of them might, to shoot an editorial, you usually get paid $100 to 200 dollars before the booker takes twenty percent from you and the twenty percent from the client which leaves you with maybe $75 if you’re lucky.
The cover of Vogue pays a few hundred dollars as does the cover of other magazines. The money is not in the editorials. The money is in the advertising and ad campaigns for skin, hair, nails, clothing, and so on, but the only way to usually get those jobs is to get editorial tearsheets first to prove you’ve worked.
Many models try to make their own tearsheets, but people can usually tell and this makes you dishonest. You may get away with it for a bit, but in the long run, it is only going to hurt you. Instead of cheating, just work hard to get your tearsheets. Don’t try to steal them as it doesn’t work. Another warning about faking tearsheets –the fashion industry keeps tabs on who is who and who is doing what. You don’t want to find yourself in a casting in Milan with fake tearsheets from America only to learn that the magazine you thought it was to rip off is doing the casting. Stories like that do happen and word will spread.
Most of the castings for ad campaigns and big jobs are done through New York, LA, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Milan, London, Paris, Tokyo, Munich, and other major markets. Each market has a look. For example, in Japan, they like smaller girls than in New York where they want bigger girls.
Each casting may require different clothing so you should always have heels in your bag. You can wear flip-flops (as most models do) or small tennis shoes, but bring heels and before you go into the casting, change your shoes. Don’t wait until you get there. The clients will not be happy and it makes a bad impression. I learned the hard way — always have heels. Also, always wear fitted clothing that looks good. Keep it simple — black, tight t-shirts, tight dresses, jeans and a t-shirt. Don’t get too dressed up or look like someone from Jenny Jones.
Less is more. Another tip: always wear a thong because sometimes you will need to try on bathing suits or an outfit to see if it fits. This goes for makeup as well. Don’t wear too much. Cover up, a little shimmer, some mascara and eyebrow pencil and some gloss are good. Natural is better. If you wear too much, they will think there is something wrong with your face and they may make you remove the makeup.
And that leads to a discussion about your skin. Your diet, which I will discuss later, has a lot to do with the condition of your skin, but this is affected also by travel and exposure to different climates. One thing you can do is drink lots of water which will help keep blemishes at bay. Also, going to the gym, the sauna, or the steam room will help a lot. If you have a problem with your skin, go to your booker. They will send you to a dermatologist. Most models have problems and most problems can be solved, so don’t stress out about it.
The modeling bag is what you will take on or to castings. It should contain your book, comp cards, cell phone, calendar, makeup kit, heels, pens, a book to read, a map, money, and your subway card. It’s also a good idea to bring mints, an extra pair of underwear and a snack like nuts or fruit. Sometimes castings can go for hours. I have been to some that lasted three or four hours so I bring a book to keep from being bored.
Now, as I said earlier, models usually start in a local market and then go to Milan or another larger market. Then, if you do well, you go from market to market till you end up in New York. If you are working a lot, you will travel a lot. Working in New York, Milan, Paris, and so on, may sound wonderful, but it is work and when you are there, you work nine to five sometimes or longer, just like you would in any other job. If you are successful, it means a hectic schedule and lots of airports and lots of time spent alone, so make sure you have plenty of books to read. It’s good to have balance by learning or studying something while you’re modeling either on your own or through a school. Or, if you are interested in the arts, it is fairly easy to find an internship with makeup artists, stylists or other photographers. Nowadays, you can also take classes online. I know several models who went to school while they modeled. You need to understand and remember that modeling usually has a limited lifespan. However, by eating right, avoiding drugs, working out and taking care of yourself, you can increase this lifespan. It is not so much how old you are now as much as how old you look.
And that brings me to another topic we should cover: health. As a model, your health is very important and you need to treat your body like a treasure. Doing lots of drugs and drinking hard liquor will hurt you physically, emotionally and spiritually, which will then hurt your working ability. You should work out daily even if it is just a walk for an hour or so as this will help you keep in shape. Yoga and dance are also good for models, but be careful that you don’t get too muscular. For diet, you should eat mostly fresh fruit and vegetables. If you eat only fruit and fruit juices in the morning till noon, it will help keep you thin and healthy. Having salads with either tofu or fish for lunch and dinner also will help keep you in shape. Mixing complex carbohydrates with protein or combining bread with meat is a good way to put on weight and keep it there because your body releases a different digestive juice for proteins than it does for a complex carbohydrate. Therefore, if you eat them together you will gain weight, not lose it. (To learn more, I would suggest and highly recommend that you buy and read the books Fit for Life 1 and 2 by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond. Many models are told more often than not by agencies to lose weight. The problem though is that most agencies don’t teach models how to lose weight in a healthy manner, thereby causing many models to turn to fad diets, pills, drugs, or eating disorders.
The fashion industry, however, is not to blame for eating disorders. Lack of education is the more likely culprit. Many models fall into eating disorders out of desperation. They want to succeed so much that they will do anything, including starving themselves, resorting to drug use, becoming bulimic in order to try to be successful. Often they are trying to find love through being accepted and feeling like they are wanted by photographers or agencies. They try to mold themselves into what they think they need to be in order to be a good model. Sometimes though this leads to emotional disorders, physical disorders, and even death. There are many models who have eating disorders and drug habits because they never learned that there is a better way. These models tend to last a very short time. Being unhealthy will not get a model far in an industry where you are working hard in major markets like New York or Milan which may require you to attend ten to twenty castings a day. As a model, you need to be in shape, plus the client wants you to exude beauty and health. The junkie look is not as hip as it used to be so there is no point in trying to be so thin that you can count your bones. While in Milan, I ate a very healthy diet and lost a lot of weight. I was being told to gain weight, but by following the “Fit for Life” plan, it enabled me to keep peak shape and, if you follow it, it will likely help you remain balanced, healthy and happy as well.
Now let’s talk about drugs and alcohol. Both are very much present within the fashion industry. More often than not, they are present after runway shows. Models are like money. Beautiful women are worth money to club owners and restaurants and, because of this, underage models often have access to parties that usually would be for the twenty-one or older crowd. This is where the danger is lurking. We all like to party, but if you don’t party safely, you will end up as someone’s lunch meat. There are many rich powerful men who like young girls and they will tell you anything and give you anything half the time. But there is always a price. Going out alone is asking for trouble. If you choose to go clubbing, always go with other models and always stay together and always go home together. If you are alone, you will become an easy target and run the risk of being drugged and raped. Often, a girl will be with someone she thinks she knows — a client or some other connection — and after a few too many cocktails, she usually isn’t aware enough or sober enough to get out of a bad situation. These girls often become the victims of date rape, which is common everywhere, not just in the modeling industry. The way to protect yourself from getting into this type of situation is simple: don’t go out alone, always go out with another model, and make sure someone knows where you are and when you will be back.
The modeling industry can open many doors, give you a chance to explore the world and an opportunity to meet wonderful people. It is a world where, if you work hard and play safe, you can come out a very well educated and well-rounded person who has seen things that many never see. Fashion can open doors with other careers within the fashion industry as well and also help get your foot in the door to the arts, acting and music. Knowledge is power and the more you can read, learn and understand, the easier it will be for you to navigate the waters of the world of fashion. Go get books. Read magazines. Check out the modeling information on websites. There is a lot of information out there. Don’t be afraid to ask your agency, bookers, photographers or other models for advice. Most are willing to share their knowledge which can help you move forward and also help keep you out of harm’s way.