Economic Times and Modeling

[Fontenrose]

This looks like the longer version of the same article:
CNN Money.com

Fashion models feel financial crunch

The economic downturn affects the fashion industry, with even models working for 50% off.

February 2, 2009: 8:38 AM ET
PARIS (Reuters) -- Free designer dresses, an army of admirers and $15,000 to stroll down a catwalk: no wonder thousands of teenage girls aspire to being a top model.
But at the haute couture shows in Paris, the leggy blondes in silk dresses who advertise a life of luxury are finding their world turned inside out by the economic crisis.
"Half price! It's half-price everywhere, in Milan, even in New York," cried Anna Chyzh, a 23-year-old from Kiev who had just changed out of a Stephane Rolland haute couture gown into jeans and was headed to the next show.
Like many models from Ukraine, Russia and the Balkans, Chyzh regularly sends money home to support her mother, a freelance interior designer who is having trouble finding work because of the downturn.
"She says, Anna, you have to help me now. So we have to work for Mum, we cannot refuse any contracts now," she added before disappearing in a swarm of equally blonde and skinny girls.
Shunned by scrimping shoppers amid rising unemployment and fears of a long, deep recession, retailers across the board have cut profit forecasts and marketing budgets.
Even larger luxury goods groups are feeling the pain. Richemont, the Swiss firm behind Montblanc pens and Cartier watches, announced earlier this year it saw no signs of a recovery after third-quarter sales missed forecasts.
Magazine publishers from Conde Nast, which owns Vogue, to Time Inc. are seeing advertising sales dive, and the New York Times has said it expects sales to deteriorate further.
At the January fashion shows in Paris and Milan, a prime advertising opportunity for luxury brands, designers hired fewer models than last year. Models and agents are feeling the pinch.
Catwalk anomalies
At Premier Model Management in London, an agency that has represented Claudia Schiffer, clients who used to pay a daily rate of $4,200 are now arriving with a budget of half that, director Aidan Jean-Marie told Reuters.
To weather the crisis, agencies are adjusting their mix of so-called "commercial models," who attract a steady stream of low-key jobs such as catalogue shoots, and pricier "image models" who appear on catwalks and magazine covers.
"You need both sides to survive the downturn, but the balance shifts slightly toward the commercial models," said Jean-Marie. "The catwalk girls are not your day-to-day girls, they are anomalies, with measurements they had when they were 16 and still have at 18."
Karen Diamond, director at Models 1, the agency of supermodel Agyness Deyn, expects the full impact of the crisis to hit later this year since advertising budgets and show schedules are planned far in advance.
"Clients will go with established models rather than giving new faces a break, and it'll be tough for new girls," she said.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the arrival of the Internet, modeling has turned into one of the most competitive and globalized job markets.
Today, a teenager from a tiny village in Eastern Europe, inspired by beauty pageants and television shows such as "America's Next Top Model," may e-mail her photo to an agent and find herself lifted to overnight fame.
But in general, the lucky few who secure an agent are still a long way from succeeding. Diamond said half of the models her agency hires do not make it to the next stage as their teenage bodies fill out, or they decide to focus on their education.
The ones who do reach the top - not counting stars like Kate Moss or Naomi Campbell - can make $500,000 a year.
Glamour crisis
Backstage at the Christian Lacroix haute couture show, such top models in pink puffball skirts, taffeta jackets and ruched dresses tower over a throng of stylists and photographers.
Minders help them cross the room on precariously high stiletto heels, make-up artists dab extra powder on their faces, assistants warn that the show is about to begin.
"Give me everything you got, baby!" a photographer shouts at a posing and pouting blonde in a froth of tulle.
The mood is exuberant, but some have secret worries.
"I'm having some doubt now because of this situation. We all do it for the money so if there is no more money, maybe I should go back and focus on my studies," said Georgina Stojiljkovic, a 19-year-old from Serbia with feline, scowling looks.
She put her degree in political science on hold a year ago to work full time and shares part of her fees with her family.
"There is still more money in this than almost any other job. I earn more than my parents - it's kind of sad, they went to school and have worked for years," she told Reuters.
Suddenly looking serious, she said the crisis may be a good thing if it forced her to finish her university degree.
Anna Chyzh, the Ukrainian model, hopes her friends in the fashion industry will help her find other work if the phone stops ringing.
Recruited as teenagers, with little experience in anything other than smiling at cameras, many full-time models interviewed at the shows did not have alternative plans but worried about work drying up.
Others said they had seen worse.
Talk of the downturn elicits a mere shrug and smile from Pablo Ballay, a lanky 23-year-old male model from Argentina at the Dior menswear show.
"A lot of models here are from Argentina, and when you live in that kind of country you live in a continuous crisis," he said backstage after the show. "So you see how well people live here and you say, what, this is a crisis?"

 

[Fontenrose]

From WSJ, a few numbers:

Last September, Iodice paid $151,000 to put on its runway show, including $28,000 to show in the Bryant Park tents, $65,000 for runway models, $55,000 for hair, makeup and other production costs and $3,000 for catering.


This February, the label is budgeting $40,000. It will cut costs by hiring a handful of fit models, who charge $800 to $1,000 each per day to present looks to buyers over one or two days. The use of the venue, Scatola Sartoriale showroom in Chelsea, was donated.


Another cost-cutting tactic: no after-party.

blogs.wsj.com

A look from the Iodice Spring 2009 fashion show, Sept. 2008

 

[model_mom]

Thanks for the articles...as the fall/winter fashion season is upon us very soon, I guess we will be seeing how things are going for the seasoned models as well as the new faces.

 

[Fontenrose]

A column on the subject at Jezebel.

There are fewer castings. The jobs pay less. Some friends who aren't already with agencies in New York, Paris, London or Milan are having trouble getting representation. Some friends who were represented in those places have been dropped, or told that they shouldn't bother coming to town for the shows. Some of the top names, including Coco Rocha, were missing from Paris couture week (which did not actually last a "week" but rather ran for three days); I wonder if it was because rates had fallen to a level that Rocha found untenable

 

[model_mom]

http://www.thefashionspot.com/news/marc-jacobs-show-downsized-1455

 

[Filipe]

^Thanks, I guess they are already thinking in the future & getting prepared, it's good they are doing these changes & not firing their employees.

 

[Afanasi]

on the bright side, i've been crazy busy, and my agent tells me that my look is in. i suppose it is because designers are shifting towards more traditional looks.

 

[haksare]

^ I was about to say the same thing, well almost
I was going to mention that maybe the aesthetic of male models would change with the dwindling economy.
It may seem a little far-fetched, but a thought came to me mind not too long ago. This new wave of pre-pubescent, pale, skaterboyish trend of male models doh we've been seeing this past season is probably a result of designers wanting more focus on the clothes that the models encouraging more consumers to buy their products. I mean if you think about, if a designer chooses to showcase his clothes on a male model, or any model male or female for that matter, who isn't conventionally attractive but still edgy and unique in his own way, then maybe audiences will focus more on the clothes that model is wearing instead of focusing on how attractive the male models are, which I am sort of guilty of
I don't know, I must be running on low sugar but I thought about it. Of course, D&G, Armani and Versace never fail to showcase gorgeous male models .

Also do you think that we'll be seeing more unknown faces who don't request as much pay as veterans on the runway?

 

[smartarse]

This is the worst i've seen , perhaps, the worst i'll witness in my lifetime.

economics = supply and demand... at this stage there's no supply and no one can't demand ....
with the failed banks left and right, small and big companies cannot lend like they used to. and that will trickle down to the operating costs and wages and everything in between.

the numbers are depressing, in all honesty. clients are tightening and what was then will mostly likely will not be what it was.

the only profession that's still basking in all its glories are frikken pro athletes.

 

[model_mom]

America the beautiful at NY Fashion Week source AM NewYork.com

By Anne Bratskeir
Fashion is fickle, and that surely applies to "It" girls - those gorgeous leggy creatures who will strut their stuff on hundreds of Fashion Week runways, starting Friday.
The same "what's in, what's out" standard that exists for clothing applies to models, too. Sometimes a particular nationality is hot, such as Brazilian or Russian. Other times, it's the look: oddly compelling "alien" girls or the skinny waif. But this season, according to the fashion powers, the poor economy may be dictating who the "It" girls will be, with many predicting something of a runway rarity: American classic beauty.
"I do think there's a return to an '80s-type of American beauty this season," says top casting agent Jennifer Starr, referring to the era of swoon-worthy supermodels such as Cindy Crawford and Linda Evangelista. Starr, who cast the models for the shows of Ralph Lauren, J.Mendel and Doo. Ri, among others, adds, "In the past, people could afford to be creative and inclusive of all, but today people need to play it safe. The dollar is the bottom line, and classic beauty sells."
Top modeling agencies agree. "We are definitely sensing a presence of the American girls and the return of the classically beautiful," says Doll Wright, an agent at Elite. Adds Maja Chiesi, vice president of IMG Models, "The classic, beautiful girl is going to be major." And Michele Pryor, co-director of Ford Models Women's division says, "Clients are trying to figure out what's going to get merchandise selling, and that's safe, steady, relatable beauty."
Here's a look at three fresh American beauties expected to make designers' new fashions sing this season.

DREE HEMINGWAY, 21
AGENCY Elite Model Management
HOMETOWN: Sun Valley, Idaho
STATS: 5-foot-9; blond hair; blue eyes
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: "Some models come along with that X-factor, something that makes them more like a muse, and that is Dree," says Richard Habberley, the manager of Elite Plus. "She's smart, charming and captivating." This is her first season doing the runway. And, talk about American royalty, she is Ernest Hemingway's great-granddaughter, and the daughter of Mariel.

KENDRA SPEARS, 20
AGENCY: Ford Models
HOMETOWN: Seattle
STATS: 5-foot-10 1/2; medium- brown hair; blue-green eyes
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: "They're calling her the next Cindy" (as in Cindy Crawford), says one Ford rep. "She has the whole package," says Michele Pryor. "Beauty and brains. She did not do well on the runway here last season but did in Milan and Paris." They think this is her year.

HEIDI MOUNT, 21
AGENCY: IMG Model Management
HOMETOWN: Salt Lake City
STATS: 5-foot-10; blond hair; blue eyes
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: Known for her incredible eyes, she is a triple threat: beauty, personality and wit. "She was huge last season, her talent undeniable," says IMG VP Maja Chiesi. "And she has this edge, plus a dreamy quality." She also has, yikes, a 2-year-old.

 

[model_mom]

CBS4.com

Super-Bad Economy Closes Beach Super-Model Agency

Reporting
Dave Game
E-mail
MIAMI BEACH (CBS4) ―

Click to enlarge A sign on the door of a Miami Beach modeling agency is a sign of the hard times, as the agency closes because of the economy. CBS4

For more than two decades Irene Marie's agency represented some of the hottest Miami models out there. Now it's a symbol of a struggling economy; a struggle that is forcing Marie to shut her doors and put this space up for rent.

Beautiful faces, hot bodies, and a whole lot of drama. That's what was captured inside Irene Marie's Modeling Agency on the hit MTV Reality Show 8th and Ocean. But the days of TV cameras, and sizzling photo shoots seems a little distant to Irene Marie now.

"It was shocking especially Irene she's such an icon here on Miami Beach," said singer/model Carla Mueller.

Marie is known as one of the pioneers who got international buzz about South Beach. She also launched the career of supermodel Nikki Taylor. Now, she is packing up her models' pictures and all the memories.

"It's a very difficult moment," Marie told CBS4 Reporter Natalia Zea,
"I've committed my life, over 25 years to this industry, my career, my models, my employees, and to close down in this manner is not something I really would have hoped for."

She says excruciatingly slow business gave her no choice but to close down. Business was down 80% last month. Many production companies have gone bankrupt, and European clients who used to hire Miami's tan talent are now staying abroad.

"This is a real true crisis economically that we're going through in this country. And I'm a product of that," said Marie.

A lifetime of glamorous and tough work was shut down by a year of slow business. It's all left Irene Marie uncertain about her own future.

Marie said she had no idea what's next for her.
" I'm just dealing with every day. I'm just taking it day by day now."

Marie is now working with a bankruptcy attorney. She will open the agency up for a few hours Thursday to give her models a chance to pick up their photos and to say goodbye.

She says some of her models are very angry, but others she says understand that this is business, and in this economy business is brutal.

"I just can't believe something like this could happen. I bet you she tried everything to keep this place open bc she loves all of us," model Steve Mueller said.

 

[CharlottefromCA]

wow =/

 

[Afanasi]

a lot of the agency shutdowns are probably due to a lack of thrifty spending. agents can get extravagant, i'm sure, and many people in general are not willing to give up their more cushy lifestyle when economy changes.


here in new york all of the experienced guys got the good jobs/shows this fashion week season. very few if any used new faces. everyone says it's a weird time right now.

 

[bvf32]

irene marie was not a suprise. they have been going down hill for a while. i must have called this 6 months ago. good thing im getting out of miami. the joke of the fashion world as far as im concerned.

 

[fritmayo]

a lot of the agency shutdowns are probably due to a lack of thrifty spending. agents can get extravagant, i'm sure, and many people in general are not willing to give up their more cushy lifestyle when economy changes.

.

true.
The crisis is there, but seems also an oportunity for some companies which was dead already to announce their death using a justification which makes them not "responsible" of the troubles...
This is not just in modeling but also for companies deciding to reduce their sponsoring or other programe...

I see some agencies doing not bad at all at the moment, and these are the ones ready for flexibility, not afraid of changes in their approach.
I personally hope the crisis will bring big changes in this business, more carefull selections of new faces, less girls in town...

it just needs to check this forum to see the business was clearly going to smash itself anyway...how many girls topic have just 4-5 pages before to die for ever... A LOT.
There are for years,and every season probably 2-3 times more girls arriving on the market than the clients needs...
it could not last like that forever, all these girls not working, that makes a LOT of debt to the agencies, but...it is the agencies fault.

 

[enVogue]

So sad to read Irene Marie closed I remember the agency from MTVs programme.
Does anyone know if other agencies, worldwide, are affected as well? Any others who needed to shut their doors ?

 

[iperlchen]

A lot less shows this season.
The label Gianfranco Ferré is facing bankruptcy and Just Cavalli's show for tomorrow was cancelled as well (same owner as Ferré). Anne-Valerie Hash won't show during Paris. Peter Som cancelled in NY.

Who else?

 

[enVogue]

Thanks for your info iperlchen!
I always loved Ferré&Just Cavalli- shows, this is truly sad news I hope not too many others will be affected.

 

[Fontenrose]

Does anyone know if other agencies, worldwide, are affected as well? Any others who needed to shut their doors ?

from going-out-of-business.blogspot.com

Modeling agency Gilla Roos closed its doors last Friday claiming bankruptcy. Funny, they just hired someone a few weeks ago - didn't they see this coming? Too bad for the models. Because the industry standard is about net 90 days for payment anyone who worked for this agency since last November probably won't get paid. Gilla Roos represented real people who took time off from lunch to go to castings, who sacrificed lots of time and Metrocard swipes to show up at castings. Sad to see these hard-working folks get screwed.

R&G Models also folded last week and agencies Innovative and CED are rumored to have cut back on their staff.

 

[model_mom]

adage.com

Tough Times Strutting Down the Catwalk

Models Feel the Squeeze as Fashion and Makeup Marketers Slash Spending

By Marissa Miley

Published: March 23, 2009
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Elite Model Management has awarded contracts to winning contestants from "America's Next Top Model" for the past five seasons, and this year will be no different.
But there's no guarantee there will be much work for the victor.

Sara Rotman, owner and creative director for ModCo


U.S. retail sales for apparel were down 2.8% year over year for the 12 months ending January 2009, according to NPD Group. And makeup and fragrance sold in U.S. department stores were down 3% and 6%, respectively, from 2007. Of course, that means less money for advertising featuring fashion models. Ad pages in Condé Nast's high-fashion magazines W and Vogue were down 24.5% in the fourth quarter of 2008. "We react to what is happening in consumer-land," said Neal Hamil, director of Elite Model Management North America, which represents models such as Dree Hemingway, Emma Balfour and Veronica Webb. "We have to make adjustments in the business right now, as we are a service business," Mr. Hamil said. "There's definitely less work out there."

Sara Rotman, owner and creative director for ModCo, an agency that develops brands for the fashion, beauty and entertainment industries, said models' rates have dropped between 10% and 30% n the past year, with some down even more. Models range in their experience and desirability, and rates can vary between $2,000 and $100,000 a day, depending on usage rights. These days, Ms. Rotman can get more for her money.
"People that were untouchable last year are suddenly accessible," she said. "It's highly competitive now. The clients aren't paying the money."
Stretching $10,000
Ms. Rotman works with all the big modeling agencies, including Elite and IMG Models, and called past rates "ridiculously pricey" and some even "downright foolish." Now things are different.
"I'm more able now to say, 'I have $10,000 and you need to send me good girls.' Last year they would have laughed and hung up on me. This year they send me good girls," Ms. Rotman said, noting that $10,000 is on the low end.
"You need to work with the customer," said Ivan Bart, senior VP at IMG Models. He said his agency is lucky because it falls under the umbrella of IMG World, which also does event creation and management. For example, IMG recently signed one of its models to become a fashion brand ambassador for Mercedes-Benz. The luxury automaker was also the title sponsor for Berlin's Fashion Week, which IMG produced.
Mr. Hamil said Elite is poised to excel in this environment because of its size and large presence in New York. With Macy's consolidating its marketing efforts in New York, for example, a lot of smaller regional agencies will likely suffer, while New York agencies will gain, as has happened before. When legendary South Beach modeling agency Irene Marie Models closed up shop in February after reportedly seeing a 90% decline in 2008 revenue, Elite absorbed Irene Marie's TV department.
But unlike in Hollywood, where rumors of a merger of giant talent agencies William Morris and Endeavor abound, no linkups seem to be on the horizon for modeling agencies.
Some hope for future
Elite Models and IMG are privately held companies and declined to share details about revenue or the number of models thy have under contract.
Ford Models, the other big modeling player, was unavailable to comment for this article. Its CEO was replaced two weeks ago.
While Ms. Rotman -- who has worked for Carolina Herrera, Theory, Tory Burch and Victoria's Secret Beauty -- feels the crunch of reduced client budgets, she's optimistic about what they mean for the industry.
"The business cannot afford to maintain the types of rates we were paying two years ago," she said.