The Dark Side of Modeling
With its estimated annual revenue of $1.5 billion in the US and the global fashion industry valued at over $2.5 trillion, the industry offers significant financial potential.
You think signing student loans at 17-18 years old is a problem? Or signing away your masters in a recording contract? Wait'll you hear about these children signing unfavorable contracts that often have the phrase "in perpetuity" somewhere in the fine print!
Age-
“A lot of these young people sign contracts without showing them to their parents because they’re only 18, 19 and they think that they’re doing something right, but then they’re stuck. It seems like [the agencies] want to hold people to things in perpetuity.” Chris Brenner, who managed supermodel Milla Jovovich’s career for decades and now represents her daughter Ever, worked as an agent at NEXT from 1993-99 and saw the industry’s problems up close. “I didn’t like these auto-renewing contracts,” he continued.
selling young girls the dream
Jennifer Sky was a teenager when she first moved to New York to be a professional model: Pressured by my agency, my parents removed me from high school on the first day of my eleventh-grade year. I joined an industry that was, in some ways, eager to treat me as an adult. I traveled the world on my own, obtaining my high school degree via a home school program. My destiny, safety and security rested solely in my hands. But because I was only 16, I had few of the rights granted to adult workers that, like me, came to New York to earn a living. I could not rent an apartment on my own. I could not rent a hotel. I could not drink, vote or even rent a car. I was an underage worker with nowhere to go.
IT'S NO SECRET THAT MODELS HAVE A "LIMITED SHELF LIFE". THEY ARE DISCOVERED AT A VERY YOUNG AGE, USUALLY AROUND 18 YEARS OLD, AND THEIR WORKING LIFE USUALLY ENDS IN THEIR LATE 20S. A MODEL'S CAREER, WHICH LASTS ABOUT TEN YEARS.
→Karlie Kloss was also on the following list of the “10 Youngest Models” being discovered at 14 years old.
Supermodel Chanel Iman achieved her cult status all by herself, through hard work and dedication. Already at the age of 13, she worked as a child model at the Ford fashion agency and, wanting to continue her career, tried her luck at the Ford World Supermodel competition. At the tender age of 16, she took third place, which launched her first into the world of commercial and later into the much-coveted world of high fashion.
Lindsey Wixon entered the world of fashion with 170 centimeters [5.58 ft] already at the tender age of 12. In addition to her height, her beautiful face certainly came in handy for her fashion breakthrough, which charmed everyone on the fashion list. Even this beauty was not discovered on the street, but was brought from Kansas to the mecca of the fashion industry (Los Angeles) by her parents.
Nine-year-old Pimenova can be described as the youngest supermodel in the history of the fashion world. The Russian beauty, who started her modeling "career" at the age of three, currently works for fashion houses such as Roberto Cavalli, Fendi and Armani, and is considered the most beautiful girl in the world.
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