How Much Can an AVERAGE Model Expect to Get Paid? (PLEASE READ POST #1 BEFORE POSTING)

[sybil300]

Let's talk male model exclusives
In an earlier part of the thread someone discussed how Abby Lee Kershaw made $50k+ for her gucci exclusive a couple of seasons ago. So what might the men make in this instance? For it to be worthwhile, I imagine they would have to make more than they'd earn if they weren't exclusive. So using cologne_ rocks estimate that the men make 1/3 of what the women make. A gucci exclusive for a male model might be $16k+, so we could infer that the men make $16k and less during fashion week.

On a side note, from bits and pieces that I've gathered, it seems like the men are more likely to be paid in cash than clothes for shows compared to the women. Is this observation correct?

 

[cologne_rocks]

D&G: Take 15k into the accoung for each female model.

 

[Minoucha]

Love this thread ! thanks everyone for the informations you're posting !

 

[Bamhutt]

I was watching a new trailer for Sara Ziff's documentary Picture Me and it mentioned she got a Marc Jacobs campaign, then shows a pay check for $80,000 (I assume it's $US) and it was in 2002.

screencap:

watch here: http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2010/09/sara_ziff_tktk.html

 

[Kaki]

Wow, this thread is incredibly interesting. I guess I never realized that in general, models seem to make so little...

 

[bothsidesnow]

I was watching a new trailer for Sara Ziff's documentary Picture Me and it mentioned she got a Marc Jacobs campaign, then shows a pay check for $80,000 (I assume it's $US) and it was in 2002.

What you say is right but I think its just the way the trailer is edited. A cheque for $80,000 equates to a pre-tax, pre-commission gross job figure upwards of $140,000(+20%)
I don't think so...
It's a nice cheque but I suspect it's a total from several jobs. Maybe someone who's seen the film can clarify.

 

[BetteT]

I can see that it's from her management company ... so it's definiltely after commission and expenses are taken out ... as you suspect. But for a major campaign like Marc Jacobs she might get paid this much. But then ... that's not an average job. A campaign is a series of shoots anyway ... it's not just one day.

She lived on Fifth Avenue (I can see it on the check) ... that tells you she made one heck of a lot of money all the time.

But, this thread is about what an average model makes ... not the one in a thousand models who make it big. She got lucky ... very, very lucky.

 

[hfhommes]

I don't know if this is entirely related to this thread but I can't find a thread made for my question;

Do agencies pay model phone bills? They all seem to have the same Blackberries.

 

[Bamhutt]

^ I don't know, but if they do... it will come out of the models income, just like every other expense

 

[ari94]

^^ Agencies would not pay for models phone bills. They get their checks and pay everything themselves such as during fashion week, they pay for their own hotel rooms and expenses, not the agencies.

 

[hfhommes]

Oh okay thanks.

Wow all of that must get really expensive. O_O They really don't earn that much at all.

 

[Fontenrose]

Sara Ziff on NY Fashion Week: All (the models) agreed that the shows were a great opportunity to launch their careers, and they seemed excited and grateful to be there, but almost no one knew what they were being paid, if anything. When I did the shows a few years ago, most paid in the range of $1,000-$5,000 per show, but today it seems that the vast majority of shows, including those of big-name designers, don't pay money — only 'trade,' meaning clothes."

http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2010/09/exclusive_video_sara_ziffs_pic.html

Also, heard a bit about this in a smaller center, that agencies charge agency fee for a runway show but offer their models for free to designers. The casting directors are also paid, but see little need to filter down the money to the models.

 

[Bamhutt]

Article about model's pay (or lack of) at NZFW: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10674458

It mentions that international girls such as Alice Burdeu and Samantha Harris get $900 (US$650) per show, while many local models get no money (only trade). The fashion week director says models should be paid "an absolute minimum" of $150 (US$110) for each show.

 

[Simera]

Only $650 US per show? That's not that much at all, well I guess considering that a lot of us have to work 40 hrs a week just to get 1/2 of that, it's a lot, but still I thought they'd get more. So even if they have to pay their own rooms and stuff, if they walk 3 shows a day they should get more than enough to cover bills. But really if I requested amodel to be in a show, I'd pay her plane ticket at least, especially if she was just coming out to NY or wherever for my show.

But I'm sure big name girls get 1000's of dollars to walk shows. I'd assume all these newbies don't get as much per show so that's why we see more of them and less older girls in shows lately.

I've always been curious about the amount they get for shows, like how do you know who gets what and all that. Personally I'd want to know before I cast a girl in a show, even if I was a huge designer. Like reading a few pages back the amount some girls get for exclusives is insane, like Abbey got 50k for 1 show? That's kinda ridiculous.

 

[bothsidesnow]

to quote from that NZ Herald article..

Mandy Jacobsen, an agent for Red 11, insisted the practice was not "a bad thing".

"If I said you could have $100, which would translate into around $60 after commission and tax, or you could have a beautiful $300 dress, what would you choose?

In most cases.. "beautiful $300 dress" = $300 worth of old season crap that didn't sell (and is charged out at full retail prices).
and I wonder if the agency commission is calculated on the notional value of the clothes in which case the trade deal is "not a bad thing" for the agent.

 

[BetteT]

I've always been curious about the amount they get for shows, like how do you know who gets what and all that. Personally I'd want to know before I cast a girl in a show, even if I was a huge designer. Like reading a few pages back the amount some girls get for exclusives is insane, like Abbey got 50k for 1 show? That's kinda ridiculous.

It's a negotiation .... no model's fee is cast in stone.

If you were a designer, you would just contact their agencies and the agency would negotiate the price with you. That is what their job is ... to find their models work and to do all the negotiations with the clients and to decide what is best for the model's career and their pocketbook, ultimately.

As far as what the agency would tell you about their rate: it would depend on the girl, her experience and how in demand she is. And also ... it would depend on how famous you are, too ... how much you could help the girl's career.

So, if she's a newer model and you are a big time designer, they'd probably just send her for free ... just to get the exposure and experience. Walking in high profile shows will allow them to charge a higher fee to commercial clients ... where the real money is made. However, if she was a highly in demand model, and you were a small time desginer, not in the main tents, you'd probably have to pay a lot because you could not help her career.

 

[andrealiceagan]

but still, even if u have to pay a lot, they can't refuse to work with new designers or brands, right?

 

[j.cruz146]

^not really. it had been said that natasha poly gets paid 25,000 for runway somewhere before but only if your willing to pay a loooooooooooooooot of money for her to be your exclusive. then she will not be able to walk any other runway show. an exclusive is the only way that a model can only walk your show and your show alone.

 

[Zann]

This thread is so interesting but from what I have gathered in a couple of pages from this thread (i'm too lazy to read every post), it almost seems that you NEED to have a lot of money before you even start modeling. Majority of the posts here have said that you don't see a penny majority of the time. To me it almost seems like screw the agency and market yourself lol. (I know that could never happen)

If you really think about it, majority of the new models don't have money to start with so they are basically living in debt to their agency while they try and get experience and big shows. I'm assuming girls who got lucky like Karlie and Lindsey Wixson are making a ton of money since they are the "it" girls while everyone else is not.

I think I read something (can't remember where) about a Male model who basically ended up paying for his own hotel during fashion week and it still ended up being cheaper than if he stayed at his model apartment through the agency. I also read that after all of the fashion weeks they attend, their check only comes out to about $17,000 after the agency takes out their cut.

 

[agee]

Bringing over a follow up question to some comments in the weight thread that is more related to this thread topic.

Editorials don't pay or they pay is piddly. I am not 100% sure, but if the shoot is in a different city than the model's location, then she has to pay the cost to get herself there - either she pays or the agency fronts the money and then deducts it from her earnings. I consider editorials as a marketing expense, but if you are doing a lot of editorials and not campaigns or paid runway work then you are actually digging a financial hole for yourself. My hope is that Eniko made a good chunk of change in Madrid - a few people have commented that Madrid pays better and I have been wondering if the better pay comes in the form of higher rates or because established models tend to book a lot of shows or both? I hope both.

I think that her body is definitely an issue when it comes to booking the blue-chip shows in the fashion capitals (and like many others I find that absurd), but another factor is that fashion is obsessed with fresh faces. Eniko is gorgeous and a talented model so I am rooting for her, my hope is that she lands a big contract in the next year or two.

99.9% of the time, especially on the level of Eniko, clients pay for travel and lodging for editorial shoots. Editorials pay around $150-$250 if there is rate. There usually is not.

Thanks for the information, I was certain about the pay part (either $0 or a low rate, consistent with the $150-$250 you quoted) but I was not 100% sure about the travel expenses part. Now perhaps I misunderstood what I read or heard but I thought that VI will not compensate models, no matter who she is, in any way including expenses, is this correct?

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Bringing over an additional interesting point from the weight thread for FYI purposes:

Editorials are not a reliable source of income for a model, whatever her status is in the industry. I remember from a recent interview of Carmen Kass that she was requested for eds that didn't pay and that for some she would have had to pay her travel expenses herself. She said something along those lines "Are they crazy? I work to get paid, I don't pay to work."