Why the Fashion World Needs to Commit to an 18+ Modeling Standard

[hazyshadeofwinter]

https://www-vogue-com.cdn.ampprojec...opiate-modeling-standard-vogue-september-2018


Sorry for the long link... posting from my phone.

My quick thought on this is that it's a good idea... simply from the schooling and exploitation aspect. I don't necessarily think that 18 automatically makes you mature but I do think there is a lot of growth done between 14-18 and there is definitely something to be said for finishing school.

 

[SugarFree]

I was just about to post this. I thought that it was an extremely well written, detailed article as well, touching beyond just the age factor. My biggest concern is about how disposable models are and how safety needs to be a top priority (working conditions / sexual assault / etc.) I am optimistic for the future.

“If you have a business that employs people, you have to be mindful of their conditions of employment—period. There’s no reason fashion should think it’s above that.” - Stella McCartney

 

[Skinnybubbly]

Totally agree with this. I remember being scouted at 14 while out with my mother (she shut it down so fast lol) I also remember my mindset at that age and forward. Was not fit to be in the modeling industry. Aside from all the sexual harassment, there’s also the fucking with a young girl’s self esteem issue.That type of environment would’ve led me to God knows where it’s way better to start a older when you have a well established head on your shoulders haha. Criticize my face now and I literally will not care. Criticize my face at 14 literally will most likely cry on sight

 

[pradawhore]

I can’t agree more
I got scouted with 15, started working with 16.
4 years passed and looking back I WISHED I’d started out with 18. The mindset change in a couple of years is crazy. With 14-16 you’re just...innocent, naive and “scared” if that makes sense? It’s easier to develop an eating disorder (also because your body is naturally changing in those years which doesn’t make it easier) you don’t know who you really are, you are forced to become indipendent, to be a woman you aren’t yet, to be on your own, so often. You have to go through all of this alone, no one explains you how this industry is, the lifestyle...and I wasn’t ready for it, I just had to..adapt.

 

[jenniex]

An article with such headline sounded a little clickbait at first but this one was for once very well written. Thanks for sharing, I loved reading it.

I started working when I was 11. Mostly catalog shoots at that age until I was tall enough around 13 to start walking. Doing modeling when puberty hits is tough. You constantly compete with your model friends and your friends at school don't really understand what goes on in your life. It's hard to make any real friends when teenage insecurities push through in both environments. In so many ways, you are alone on that path.

 

[marie.model]

I feel like maybe a model scouted at 18 has more stable looks/measurements then say a 14 year old? You would think the agencies would want a talent they knew they could rely on

 

[jenniex]

I feel like maybe a model scouted at 18 has more stable looks/measurements then say a 14 year old? You would think the agencies would want a talent they knew they could rely on

The article answers this.

 

[christinechina]

Thanks for sharing-it was a great article, and worth reading all the way to the end

One thing that made me kind of sad was the bit about how the industry changed with the fall of the Iron Curtain-it just seems a little messed up that at least some of the fashion industry’s focus on thinness came from “undernourished girls” and “desperate poverty”

I mean, don’t get me wrong, I will always associate skinniness with beauty, but there’s nothing pretty about being malnourished and not being able to afford food/basic necessities

 

[cosmere]

I didn't start modeling until I was 19, which is honestly the best possible decision for me. If I had started at 14, I would have been ideal runway measurements for about two years until I (naturally, like everyone does) filled out a bit. I could not imagine getting the weight loss pressure from my agency at that age, especially since there's little I can do to prevent that. I don't think any girls should be thinking about their weight before they're even finished puberty...

 

[FailedSupermodel]

when i started modeling at 19, everyone told me i was too old. so. im alright with this 18+ idea, but aside from that, i have been in so many uncomfortable situations. photographers asking to shoot "artistic nudes" even though we agreed prior to shooting that id be leaving my clothes on, going to after parties where alcohol was freely given to me despite being under 21. i wasnt even carded! so many creeps offering to take me home in exchange for money. (thuh fuck!?) id hear of models hooking up with photographers, casting directors, agents, and whatnot. this probably isnt representative of the entire industry, but on the side of the industry that i was on it was on.. it was far too adult for someone under 18. i would have been traumatized if i had started at 14. maybe its just a little unprofessional on my end? anyway, i modeled in Boston MA mainly. never went big! can any of the big girls tell me if its like this on the REAL modeling side?