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Maria Asenova Sues MC2; Joan Smalls Secures Italian Vogue Cover; Condé Nast Revises Internship Guidelines

By Marcia Mitchell
If you've walked into a drug store in the last six years, you've probably seen her face. Youthful, serene and perfectly lit, Bulgarian model Marina Asenova is the face of Coty's Sally Hansen Hair Care line. Only, she had no idea up until very recently and is demanding remuneration. [...]
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€240,000 Of Lost Wages In Italy And A Year To Pay In LA

By Caitriona Balfe
Working as a model, there were numerous times that I had trouble getting paid the money I was owed. While working with the Italian agency Paolo Tomei in 2002 and 2003, I had perhaps the most successful show seasons of my career. I was walking the runway for many of the top Italian fashion houses, averaging 26 shows per season, and in that period I amassed earnings of over €240,000. I had yet to receive any payment when I learned the agency was declaring bankruptcy. [...]
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Model Alliance Announces Participation In The Unpaid Wages Campaign

By Sara Ziff
I am proud to announce that the Model Alliance is collaborating with the Freelancers' Union to pass The Freelancer Payment Protection Act, a proposed law which would legally protect models and other freelancers in New York from deadbeat clients. It's already passed the New York State Assembly; but we need your support to insure it passes in the Senate. [...]
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Models Helping Models; Casting Directors Are Holding All the Cards

By Marcia Mitchell
Despite what angry New England Patriots fans may think, it turns out Gisele Bundchen is in fact a team player. Last season at Givenchy, the mouthy Brazilian came to the aid of new face Lara Mullen. In a daily diary she's been keeping for the Telegraph, Mullen recalled, "As we are queuing to go out on the runway a strap on my shoe breaks and one of the other models (later identified to me as Gisele Bündchen!) saves the day by ordering the dressers to bring me a new pair." [...]
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Straight Talk On “Unruly” Black Hair

By Marcia Mitchell
As a woman of color, I am very familiar with the stigma attached to my hair type and its supposed limitations. It is “unruly” and “difficult to manage.” As a small child, my mother would struggle to straighten it on Saturday mornings. I would scream and cry, disrupting the entire household and upsetting my father, who would angrily predict that the damage being done to my hair was not only physical but emotional as well. It wasn’t the pretty picture on the box of chemical relaxer my mother would purchase from the beauty-supply store; it was an ordeal. The pressure to fit into a European ideal of beauty by straightening my hair is inescapable, and in fashion it’s become the norm. [...]
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Ananda Marchildon Sets a Precedent; Colorful Kenzo; Alexander’s Woes

By Marcia Mitchell
Ananda Marchildon's case against Elite Models has ended in a legal victory. The 25-year-old Dutch model, deemed "too fat" by her agency, was awarded the full €65,000 owed to her after winning the fourth season of Holland's Next Top Model. In an exclusive interview with Nadette de Visser, Marchildon said, "After almost two years of struggling, I was finally proven right. A huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders.” [...]
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Why Modeling Is, Technically Speaking, A ‘Bad Job’

By Ashley Mears
The day I signed with a modeling agency in New York, a manager sat me down to explain the terms of our working relationship. I was excited to be there, even a bit giddy to be signing a modeling contract, but not so much as to miss the crucial terms: in exchange for exclusive representation and a "standard" 20% commission from my earnings, the agency would promote and manage my modeling career. In this self-employment arrangement, agencies arrange opportunities for models to work in exchange for a cut of their success, but they are not liable for models’ failures. The manager explained as much as he handed me the contract, stating, “Here’s where we don’t promise you the moon and the stars, but we’ll do our best to get you there.” [...]
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A Voice Long Overdue

By Carre Otis
Recently I found myself engaged in a passionate conversation with Sara Ziff, fellow model, founder and director of the Model Alliance. With great relief and enthusiasm, I learned that the Model Alliance was organizing and working against the sexual harassment and abuse I’ve been trying to expose. For decades the industry seemed silent and deeply guarded about what goes on behind the camera and during my crusade of educating others, I was often met with disbelief that models might receive anything but "star" treatment. The outside perception was that most models lived a glamorous, protected life.[...]
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Marc Jacobs Flouts CFDA Recommendation; Kate Upton Defies Critics; What Andrej Pejic Did Next

By Marcia Mitchell
Among the 50 models booked for the Marc Jacobs show this past New York fashion week were Ford models Ondria Hardin and Thairine Garcia. Booking Marc Jacobs or Marc by Marc Jacobs -- two of the more hotly anticipated shows of the season -- can secure a model's position throughout the industry as a face to watch. Although all of the Marc Jacobs models' identities were mostly obscured by enormous Jamiroquai-inspired hats, these two young ladies managed to stand out. Both Ms. Hardin and Ms. Garcia are under 16. [...]
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Casting for NYFW Slowly Becoming More Diverse; Lakshmi Menon on Indian Models

By Marcia Mitchell
While the overwhelming majority of models booked for New York fashion week continue to be white, this season there was a small uptick in the number of black models used and an even more significant increase in the number of Asian models used. In only one season, the percentage of looks presented on Asian models has gone from 6.8% to 8.8%. Two percentage points may be nothing to write home about but when it translates to a total of 402 looks being shown on a woman of Asian descent, it adds up to increased exposure for those designers and models, and a shift in the perception that high fashion is reserved for only one demographic. [...]
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Yes! MT @ninjasze Be still my beating heart.. are there 2 MODELS on the covers of June US Vogue AND Harper's Bazaar? Been far too long!  — @ModelAllianceNY

The Model Alliance

Organizing models to establish fair labor practices in their workplace

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  • Coco Rocha and the Business of Modeling
  • Child Model Petition
  • Film Screening: Girl Model
  • Inside The Modeling Industry: A Conversation About Health And Beauty In Fashion
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