$15 for catalogue work...after forking out $2,000 for test shoots and $75 for "walking lessons."
Kendall and Gigi can make modeling look so glamorous and easy, but for models who aren't massivecelebrities, the job can be a financial nightmare. In part of an investigative series,"Runway Injustice," CNN Moneyresearched the outrageous costs of being a model, and the numbers are bitterly disappointing due to fatcommissions for agencies, ridiculous work expenses and indirect theft.
Since modeling agencies charge 20 percentcommission, models' paychecks aresignificantly reduced from the promised amount by the time they receive it. Here are a few examples:
- One model got $15 from a $500 catalogueshoot
- Another was promised $74,000 over six years on official documentsbut only earned $30,000
- A model who was promised $30,000 for a jobreceived $6,475 after commission and taxes
- One models' expected $10,000 paycheck shrunk to $4,000 after commission
Besides the chunk reserved for agency fees and incometax, the expenses required of the job also take out a large portion of each paycheck.Alexia Palmerof Trump Model Managementshared thather expenses totaled to $12,000 in about three years:
- Test shoots: more than $2,000
- Walking lessons: $75/each
- Dermatology visit (recommended by agency): $200
- Promo video: $250
- "Show package" (a process that aims to land models in runway shows): $900
- Courier fees (for delivering portfolios to possible clients): $100
- Transportation: $400
- Other administration fees: $4,000
- Personal website: hundreds of dollars per year
- Comp cards (model equivalent to a business card): $1/each, purchased hundreds at a time
And since somepaychecks take monthsto process, she's had to ask for cash advances—which isn't rare for models—for a5 percent interest rate.
Attorneys argue that modeling agencies are posing as "management companies" instead ofemployment agencies to avoid limitations on high commissions and fees,CNNreports.A class-action lawsuit took place over 10 years ago, that resulted in modeling agencies promising to be more transparent, but the 20 percentcommission still dominates.
Some models have claimed that pay cuts don't even have to be from commission—money is just taken from the paycheck without permission.Model Louisa Raska said her agency deducted $250 from her paycheck for client Christmas gifts without her knowledge.Retired model Grecia Palomares had 70 percentof her $1,000 paycheck removed due to unnamed expenses.
When questioned about the paycheck-shrinking tactics, onemanagement company involved in thelawsuit said that such practices"help their models succeed."
This idea may be one of the most complicatedparts of the job, as it trains models to keep quiet on the ways they're taken advantage or in order to be favored by the agency and earn more gigs as a result. As one attorney put it, they're in a "perpetual state of dependence."
Erica Gonzales is the Senior Culture Editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage on TV, movies, music, books, and more. She was previously an editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com. There is a 75 percent chance she's listening to Lorde right now.
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