The Most Valuable Models ... Runway Models not being Paid What they are Worth?

[Fontenrose]

Here is a quote from some unhappy agents, regarding runway models:

Source: thedailybeast.com

articleThe starkest transition has occurred on the runway. Top models could once earn up to $250,000 from a runway season, but now most brands pay just $200 to $1,000 per hour, claiming the pay is in the exposure. Agents counter that runway shows don’t attract attention, and are no longer an entrée into editorial and advertising success.
“In the last season, there’s been a shift. Brands used to use some unknown girls on the runway and then they’d get the campaign,” says Richard Habberley, agent of Alessandra Ambrosio at Elite Model Management. “Now the models getting campaigns may not be on the runway at all.”
“Financially successful fashion companies have duped our industry into sacrificing a model’s traditional earnings from both fashion shows and fashion advertisements in the name of positive exposure,” adds Chris Gay, president of Marilyn Model Agency, which represents Adriana Lima and Emanuela de Paula. “If campaigns and shows are now considered just another form of positive exposure, then where’s the recompense for a model’s time and effort?”

Actually a lot of models seemed to skip most of the shows this year. Pretty tough for the girls getting them, if they don't translate into campaigns.

 

[Urban Stylin]

I dont see any next Gisele for the moment, not even Doutzen IMO can achieve that super success. The last models to attempt it were Natalia, Karolina and Daria but they still didnt reach her fame

 

[agee]

Actually a lot of models seemed to skip most of the shows this year. Pretty tough for the girls getting them, if they don't translate into campaigns.

Not to sound picky, but I question whether "a lot" of models skipped shows this year. I think that a few of the very top models did few or no shows, Raquel, Lara, Stam, Coco because they don't have to do shows to be visible and prove themselves to potential campaign clients. I know a few like Jourdan Dunn had personal issues, but I wonder if some of the agencies were not willing to advance the money for airfare, hotels and incidentals for the same number of models that they had in the past and that is why some of the known girls did not hit every city.

“Now the models getting campaigns may not be on the runway at all.”

I read this two ways, one way is that as previously mentioned, they are the top ranked models or reconstituted supermodels, but I also read it as new faces are being scouted from places other than the runway, Emily DiDonato for example.

“Financially successful fashion companies have duped our industry into sacrificing a model’s traditional earnings from both fashion shows and fashion advertisements in the name of positive exposure,”

See this is what has perplexed me about high fashion for the past couple of years, because I had heard where even before the economy went south that campaigns for prestige labels were not paying well and were trading on the honor of being affiliated with their brand. To me even if a campaign pays $200,000, by the time you pay the agency cut, repay agency loans for things like test shots, comp cards, air fare, and the like, the average model does not have a lot left over to support an extravagant life style in NYC, London or Paris. I just wonder how these agencies who have boards with dozens of girls, live off of a few campaigns. Now my guess is that the agency has a lot of empty shirts on its boards, i.e., a lot of those models are not being actively managed; of course there is modeling work that is not as visible as campaigns and runways - like showroom, look books, catalogs; thirdly I think that the models on the more commercial boards are keeping the agency afloat, which is good, but it is a shame that commercial and catalog modeling gets looked down upon so much.

 

[MyNameIs]

I wanted to just second the opinion that Maryna Linchuk is the "next Gisele".

Another girl who I think has a chance is .... Chanel Iman.

 

[Shelton123]

Chanel isn't very well liked in the public eye, right? She needs more than fashion cred to become as big as Gisele.

What about Tao? It may be too early to predict for her, and I know the whole sexy VS/SI thing is never happening, but she does have a certain star quality about her, and I could see her becoming an icon.

Lara could be the next Gisele as well.

 

[Littleathquakes]

Yes I think in most non-Chanel threads, the topic of Chanel brings up passionate debate, with most opinions going against her. And God help you if you dare venture into Chanel's thread and post something negative.

I dont have issues with her, I think she's a great HF model. I don't think she was right for Vicky's Secret, though.

I know a lot of people look down on that show, but there have been great HF girls who have shown their versatility, as well as a lot of commercial girls who showed they can indeed walk a runway alongside the best of the HF girls. And that to me is very indicative of a model's potential. There are plenty of HF girls I wouldn't want to see in VS, and likewise, lots of VS girls I'd rather see stay there and not venture over to Milan or Paris.

 

[Leeroi]

Have to retype what I said earlier, since I went off topic. LoL.

I don't think there will ever be a next Gisele. No matter how unreasonable that sounds; if models like Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Claudia Schiffer, Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, Daria Werbowy, Hilary Rhoda, and Kate Moss can't even reach the success that Gisele has had, then I don't think any of these newer girls can. And what's worse is that some of the models I mentioned have been working since the late 80's and some of them are even more well known in the mainstream media, yet they have failed to deliver the goods Gisele has. Some of those models mentioned are even more favored by many fashion designers/brands, like Karl with Claudia. Some of them are even claimed to be most beautiful, like Christy Turlington by many European journalists. Some of them are even hosts of various TV shows or designing clothes for an international brand. Oh, and let's not forget that the supermodels of the early 90's demanded to be paid thousands just for simply walking and were even featured in a lot of music videos.

No matter how many times people complain about Gisele, she is the epitome of being a supermodel without having to rely on "celebrity status" and still making millions. She proved this when she didn't renew her contract with VS and still remained the highest paid model in the world. How many of those VS girls can claim to have other million dollar contracts other than VS? Her status right now is the highest peak any model has ever gone in the pyramid of success.

Plus, what other model can claim to be considered a national hero to their country?

 

[xerq]

honestly the sooner people start separating Gisele from other models the better. no one can be like her that is rather obvious! and Gisele is only famous because of the men she has dated.without leo,tom and etc where would she be?
this lady from Next models management puts it well...

ON TWO TYPES OF FAME FOR A MODEL

Craig, "How important is press as opposed to campaigns, editorials in magazines, and runways to a models career?"

Faith, "It depends upon the model. So there's a "high fashion model" lets call her that's doing all the campaigns and doing Vogue and doing all the shows. It doesn't matter. Because for her, her bible is the editorial, the Vogues of the world, and doing runway.

Then there's a whole other group of girls that, they are famous because of the press. They probably were not really famous models. But they became famous because they dated somebody that was famous, they were in the right place at the right time, they dated a basketball player, there was something about them that made them famous.

...There's 2 different kinds of famous. There's fashion famous which is what every model, I hate to say it , aspires to. They aspire to being in the well of American Vogue, they aspire to being photographed by Craig McDean, and David Sims, Steven Meisel, photographers Bruce Weber, like that.

And then there are girls that you know that their dream was to be in Sports Illustrated or to be in Victoria's Secret. Its a very different kind of famous and its a different kind of fashion. So its completely different. So there's two types of fame."

altamira

 

[ad041715]

^ I agree with you and what the lady said in that interview.

But don't forget that Gisele was also in a movie (Taxi) and is most known for her work with VS.
I don't think many of the young girls today even know she dated Leo DiCaprio! She was also a commercial and HF model, not just one. Many girls have to choose one or the other nowadays. Put all this together, and that makes a 'supermodel'. I think her relationship with Leo and Tom (she was already famous before her relationship with Tom) is only a portion of why she is famous.

 

[LagerfeldBoy]

Couldn't agree more, Elfinkova. To simply state, VS helped advance her. Which brings me to point out that VS seems like the mega "confirmation" of being a "supermodel" these days. Look at Gisele. Sorry to bring her up, but without VS, she's wouldn't be who she is today. Look at Adriana as well. Put her back in her high fashion days and the average joe wouldn't know who she is. The effects of VS are , no doubt, incredibly beneficial, which allow models to be known by the masses.

 

[LagerfeldBoy]

I wanted to just second the opinion that Maryna Linchuk is the "next Gisele".

Another girl who I think has a chance is .... Chanel Iman.

Personally, couldn't agree more. Add Lara Stone, and these are the top 3 girls I could see outgrowing their modeling status in the future.

 

[balmain1914]

ALL male models are in a low paying comparing with female models....

 

[MyNameIs]

I'm personally not convinced Lara Stone can translate well into commercial modeling. She fell flat at least year's VS. Just a completely embarrassment, imo. Plus, I don't know if her look (face wise) is accessible for the regular people. But then I wouldn't think Giselle has the most 'accessible' face either, but look where she ended up.

 

[Leeroi]

honestly the sooner people start separating Gisele from other models the better. no one can be like her that is rather obvious! and Gisele is only famous because of the men she has dated.without leo,tom and etc where would she be?
this lady from Next models management puts it well...

altamira

Are you serious?

Before 2000, she was already considered the front runner of the Brazilian wave and was the model that helped end the waif trend Kate Moss started that immediately catapulted her to supermodel-dom. And then she was named the most beautiful girl in the world by the rollingstones magazine in 2000, I think. In 2001 she signed a 5 year contract with VS for $5million a year, which is $25 million total for the contract, the biggest contract by a VS model in history. Not even Heidi or Tyra even got that big of a contract from VS. So let's do the math, for 5 years, she was literally making over $5million a year because of the VS contract alone, and has consistently been the highest paid model in the world since then. She then started dating Leo shortly after the contract signing, but it was off and on until they broke up a few years after and wasn't really that big of a couple until they appeared together at the Oscars. More importantly, she has also been one of the few models who are still being featured on American Vogue. Ana Wintour certainly doesn't care who you are dating.

And whose Tom Brady? That American football player that's practically unknown outside the US or otherwise fans of the New England Patriots? I don't think the fashion mags and high fashion brands in the world care who she is dating.

Plus, if her dating these "high profile celebrities" actually helps her money making ability substantially because of PR reasons, then why are models like Tyra (former) and Heidi who are more well known by the general public have been given the same bucks as her?

That article though is very valid when it comes to other models like Selita who literally flaunted her engagement ring from Nick Cannon around the world that made her an instant celebrity, but we all know how that turned out....

Although, I do agree that Gisele is in a separate category of modeling because she definitely isn't as mainstream famous as Heidi Klum or Tyra Banks, but also hasn't the same high-fashion appeal notoriety as let's say Naomi, Claudia, or Linda; yet she is consistently getting paid the most for each job she gets, because it's not like she has the most magazine covers or campaigns or commercials in a year, she just gets paid more.

 

[Leeroi]

I'm not even the biggest Gisele fan, so I don't know why I just defended her. Haha.

 

[TREVOFASHIONISTO]

I wanted to just second the opinion that Maryna Linchuk is the "next Gisele".

Another girl who I think has a chance is .... Chanel Iman.

Im with you...im just sitting back and hoping it happens

 

[agee]

Gisele was an established model when she started dating Leonardo DiCaprio in 2000, but she was not a supermodel. Dating Leonardo DiCaprio raised her profile considerably; even when he was between hit movies, Leonardo DiCaprio was and still is one of the most famous people on the planet. While she had walked in big shows and was on major covers, the Rolling Stone proclamation and the VS contract came after she started dating Leonardo DiCaprio. I believe that her high profile relationships helped her career, but still in Gisele's case she had the goods to back it up.

I don't think that Gisele's first contract with VS back in the early 2000s was for $5 million per year, the $5 million per year contract was signed in the mid-2000s.

 

[Leeroi]

Gisele was an established model when she started dating Leonardo DiCaprio in 2000, but she was not a supermodel. Dating Leonardo DiCaprio raised her profile considerably; even when he was between hit movies, Leonardo DiCaprio was and still is one of the most famous people on the planet. While she had walked in big shows and was on major covers, the Rolling Stone proclamation and the VS contract came after she started dating Leonardo DiCaprio. I believe that her high profile relationships helped her career, but still in Gisele's case she had the goods to back it up.

I don't think that Gisele's first contract with VS back in the early 2000s was for $5 million per year, the $5 million per year contract was signed in the mid-2000s.

Gisele started dating Leo officially in 2001, but never really made it public until they appeared at the Oscars together in 2005. The Rollingstones cover was in 2000. She only had one Angel contract with VS which was signed in 2002 and ended in 2007. The contract was for $25million. But she was never the most publicly known VS model, so people complained why she was making so much money compared to Tyra Banks and Heidi Klum.

I think people are forgetting that most of Gisele's income isn't coming from VS or Ipanema Shoes. It's coming from the other 20 long term contracts she has with other companies from around the world. For example, from June 2008-June 2009 she earned an estimated $25million without her VS contract.She was already the highest, if not one of the highest, paid model in the world by the turn of the decade.

I do agree that dating Leo did increase her celebrity profile, but for some people to say it's the only reason why she is successful is very belittling.

If we're talking about "fame" equaling the amount of success a model has, then Gisele should be making pennies compared to Tyra, Naomi, or Heidi, because more people know them. The difference is that Gisele is in the fine line between high fashion and commercial that enables her to get the most jobs for the most money.

 

[Leeroi]

Also, I have to wonder how much Heidi Klum is making from the various TV shows she's hosting and her jewelry line, because she earned $16million last year that includes all her earnings from TV Hosting, VS, and her jewelry. VS is definitely under paying her, especially that she's the most known Angel from the current bunch.

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Anyways, I hope Maryna Linchuk, Natasha Poly, Daria Werbowy, Hilary Rhoda and Doutzen Kroes are able to become as successful and known as Gisele, even though it's a long shot.

 

[agee]

Gisele started dating Leo officially in 2001, but never really made it public until they appeared at the Oscars together in 2005. The Rollingstones cover was in 2000. She only had one Angel contract with VS which was signed in 2002 and ended in 2007. The contract was for $25million. But she was never the most publicly known VS model, so people complained why she was making so much money compared to Tyra Banks and Heidi Klum.

I think people are forgetting that most of Gisele's income isn't coming from VS or Ipanema Shoes. It's coming from the other 20 long term contracts she has with other companies from around the world. For example, from June 2008-June 2009 she earned an estimated $25million without her VS contract.She was already the highest, if not one of the highest, paid model in the world by the turn of the decade.

I do agree that dating Leo did increase her celebrity profile, but for some people to say it's the only reason why she is successful is very belittling.

If we're talking about "fame" equaling the amount of success a model has, then Gisele should be making pennies compared to Tyra, Naomi, or Heidi, because more people know them. The difference is that Gisele is in the fine line between high fashion and commercial that enables her to get the most jobs for the most money.

It doesn't matter when they officially appeared together the media buzz started in 2000 resulting in her increased profile; the relationship rumors started in the summer and the Rolling Stone cover happened in the fall. The $25 million contract ($5 million per year) with VS was signed in 2006* and broken in 2007 and to her credit, Gisele was able to secure campaigns and contracts to offset her VS earnings and then some.
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* Gisele's first VS contract was signed in 2000.