Marc Jacobs Doesn't Pay His Models For Their Work

[masquerade]

I don't think its really fair to put all of this on Marc. Marc does it for the same reason everyone else does: its an openly accepted policy in the fashion industry. Its extremely common in editorials and runway.

If people want to fix it, picking on one house isn't the way to do it.

 

[KhaoticKharma]

I don't understand, doesn't this violate some sort of 'minimum wage' law in the US?

There are also labor laws as well, stating those under 16 can only work for a certain number of hours on a school night...

Isn't this why the top models often skip New York, save the shows they're doing campaigns for? If I'm not mistaken, Paris actually pays, which I'm sure is at least part of the reason as to why everyone and their mother seems to make an appearance on the catwalk. Interesting...

 

[Scott]

i don't think anybody is dumping on marc because it's marc.....this is a disgusting practice that's coming to the fore thanks to some naivety of a young woman who just so happened to be talking specifically about marc jacobs. if she were talking about anybody else i would hope we'd still be just as horrified by this.

and i was just thinking about this whole underage thing myself. to me this is the kind of situation that could get the feds involved. in essence working this young woman for 23 hr total with no pay is called child labour!! and somebody please sit that poor girl down with her mother and confront this pathetic agency because they are obviously condoning this and honestly don't have this young girl's best interest at all.

 

[Phuel]

I think most people here are not naive to the fact that "trade" is common practice in the industry-- particularly in NYC because there are no laws that enforce a certain wage for models' work. Just because it's openly acceptable for everyone to do it, does that mean it's right? I suppose that's a question of ethics.

I can understand a new struggling designer exchanging trade for a model's time to walk his show, or even a known policy at Marc Jacobs that girls walk in exchange for trade and the high exposure his shows generate. Fair enough. But for him to use a new girl-- a child, as a look model, where her only exposure is in his studio with his staff for 23 hrs, she should be compensated with an actual wage-- not just trade; it's not only the right thing to do, it's the ethical thing to do. A fairly decent person should know that without being told. And he can lead by example. He's obviously taking advantage of her naivety, and excitement at being in the company of a celebrity.

He's not a struggling designer. Him and his people should be ashamed instead of posting such an arrogant statement as "Models are paid in trade. If they don't want to work w/ us, they don't have to."

 

[agee]

I don't think its really fair to put all of this on Marc. Marc does it for the same reason everyone else does: its an openly accepted policy in the fashion industry. Its extremely common in editorials and runway.

But for some reason this practice keeps getting associated with Marc Jacobs. I would not be shocked if there are other major designers in NYC who do it, but I am not assuming that it is the standard operating procedure for the larger designers. Marc Jacobs is owned by LVMH, one of the largest if not the largest fashion conglomerate, Marc Jacobs (the company) has the frigging money to pay its fit models and runway models and there is no way that I am going to deem it unfair because maybe, possibly, kinda sorta there are other designers who do likewise. IMO Marc Jacobs remains despicable and if there is evidence of other major designers engaging in this practice, then name them and I will call them despicable too.

If people want to fix it, picking on one house isn't the way to do it.

I beg to differ and thing that it is a very effective way of fixing a problem like this. Marc Jacobs is not going to get fired from Marc Jacobs, but the attention may cause them to change their practices and also lead the CFDA to come up with guidelines, hopefully meaningful ones that will be adhered to.

 

[franki]

I don't think its really fair to put all of this on Marc. Marc does it for the same reason everyone else does: its an openly accepted policy in the fashion industry. Its extremely common in editorials and runway.

If people want to fix it, picking on one house isn't the way to do it.

he is a board member of the CFDA. so yes, in my opinion, it is fair.

trying to target all designers at once doesn't seem to work so maybe naming and shaming big houses, who definitely have the funds to be paying their models, is a better approach.

i am not one of these people who think all models should be making tens of thousands. let's be real, like MANY industries it is not a high skill work, and there is more supply of models than demand. but they should at least ALL be paid an hourly rate of at least minimum wage

 

[Scott]

see i think that's the big issue here....marc jacobs not only has the prestige,but he is a board member of the CFDA.....he has LVMH money coming from the stakes they own in his label and for his work at louis vuitton. the guy is not struggling for money. he can afford to pay his in-house fitting models as well as his catwalk models....probably three times over.

most of the time "trade" practices do occur but in many of these cases these models are well over 18 and very cognizant of their options. i remember distinctly erin o'connor when she was at the height of her career,saying about doing demeulemeester's show preferring to paid with clothes in exchange for money.

 

[iluvjeisa]

But isn't it also a convenient way to get the most beautiful girls to wear your stuff off the runway as well? Seems like a cost-cut and some marketing at the same time. I can't really feel sorry for the models on this one even though I can see the point.

 

[Lola Montès]

I am not surprised at all. isn't it an honor to wear and work for free for Marc Jacobs ?
Seriously, it's a mystery why so many girl want to become a model : working for free for designers and magazines, being sexually molested by photograpgers and agents. What a dream life !

 

[MyNameIs]

I am not surprised at all. isn't it an honor to wear and work for free for Marc Jacobs ?
Seriously, it's a mystery why so many girl want to become a model : working for free for designers and magazines, being sexually molested by photograpgers and agents. What a dream life !

Can we not throw that around like it's no big deal? It clouds the separate issue at hand and if thrown around without factual supports, dilutes the issue if and when it is a problem. Additionally, Marc Jacobs may be underpaying (or in this case, not paying at all) his models, but it's not fair to him, unless shown otherwise, to throw those sorts of accusations in this thread.

 

[FashionMuseDior]

This is terrible. One of the reasons I'm not a fan of NYFW.

 

[Eterna]

when I read the story, I thought that from now on the models would have to sign a contract in which they agree not to write about their work in facebook or twitter or a blog. But with girls like that one will not be necessary:

Model Would Just Like To Say She Really Enjoyed Working Unpaid For Marc Jacobs

Hailey Hasbrook — a 17-year-old new face model who worked over 30 hours for Marc Jacobs during New York fashion week while the designer styled his collection, and who is just one of the many runway models Jacobs doesn't pay — has written a response to our earlier story. It reads in part:

First I want to set one thing straight, I loved working and doing looks for Marc Jacobs. I was actually one of the favorite jobs I have had so far. Everyone there were absolutely amazing and awesome to work with. It wasn't like I was non-stop trying clothes on for a full 9 hours. There were many times where Marc and Camille were going over other things. I had many breaks where I could go and lay on the couch, read, or just relax. They took really good care of me there. All I had to do was ask if I needed anything. There was plenty of food and drinks there the entire time. They were all very understanding, flexible and accommodating.

I actually preferred to be paid in trade. I love everything that I got, and it was well worth it. There was an entire room filled with clothes and shoes that I was asked to choose from. Everything was amazing.

I feel like the authors of these blogs tried to remake my entire post and make it seem that I was slamming the company. As I said, it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed my time there, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I am not and was not complaining one bit about it at all. I hope that everybody can see and understand that I meant no harm by those posts and that this will help clear everybody's mind of any false beliefs that were put there by Jezebel or any other posts that may have mentioned me in them.

It's of course good to know that Jacobs and company treat their models well while they're working. He still didn't pay her.

jezebel

 

[HeatherAnne]

Is Hasbrook scared of possibly ruining her chance in the industry now or did they really take her comments that out of context? Probably a little of both, but I lost all respect for her for in her obvious over-praise of Marc and company in that statement, stand up for yourself girl!

 

[Jacque Marcel]

Well to be fair to Marc, Birkin bags, man skirts and p*rn stars don't pay for themselves.

 

[Fontenrose]

Is Hasbrook scared of possibly ruining her chance in the industry now or did they really take her comments that out of context? Probably a little of both, but I lost all respect for her for in her obvious over-praise of Marc and company in that statement, stand up for yourself girl!

To be fair, her original blog post was also gushing about how much she enjoyed the experience.

When did MJ stop paying for look books anyway? Who else is doing that?

 

[kokobombon]

^I think the question is did her ever pay for lookbooks... or anyone else for that matter.

 

[agee]

To be fair, her original blog post was also gushing about how much she enjoyed the experience.

That was my read as well, I made very strong comments about how I felt about Marc Jacobs not paying models for shows and working as fit models but that was based on the objective information presented in the article, but the model's tone about the experience, even in the original article was positive and enthusiastic, for example:

"Doing looks means that I am kind of like a live mannequin in a way. They try all the garments and looks on me to put together what they are going to use for the show...Despite the long hours it was actually a lot of fun."

The writer from Jezebel, who extracted passages from Hailey Hasbrook's Tumblr, probably knew she was onto something juicy because as I stated previously these things have been discussed and rumored about for quite some time - I have read about it on tFS (in the model pay thread IIRC), so the Jezebel writer basically extracted from Hailey's Tumblr, contacted her and asked additional questions and wrote an article, but the headline and slant of the article is the Jezebel writer's not Hailey's.

 

[model_mom]

Not all designers act in the same manner as Marc Jacobs. The going rate for a new face back in 2003/2004 was a thousand a day. I would hope that this rate has gone up and that most designers pay their models for looks. Much is wrong with the way young models are treated and I would hope that the union for models that is being organized will help remedy this type of gross behavior.

 

[Lee MG Tisci]

what Jacobs and others in NY are doing is totally unacceptable but what about her agency? i think they should take a lot of the blame too
she's completely new to the business and underage so i think it's their duty to protect her, also i suppose that they set her schedule or agree to extend it..
and not only she works unpaid for a designer but also she owes money to her agency!

about Hailey's response, probably her agency told her to do that and she's just 17.. i bet all of us were that naive at her age too!

But what keeps me thinking now; is the new launched Model Alliance going to take action against the case? It is defnitely something that adresses the organisation's purposes and definitely something to debate about.

i'm very interested to know that too, they definitely should do something about it.

 

[wild roses]

UGH! I hated reading this and hated it even more that we seemed more concerned about it than the industry itself.