Ulrikke Høyer

Erdem F/W 2017.18 London



David Koma F/W 2017.18 London



Roland Mouret F/W 2017.18 London



vogue
 
Blumarine F/W 2017.18 Milan



Krizia F/W 2017.18 Milan



vogue
 
Stella McCartney F/W 2017.18 Paris



vogue
 
Vogue Paris May 2017
C'est Vogue


PHOTOGRAPHER: ALIQUE
STYLING: CÉLIA AZOULAY
HAIR: DIEGO DA SILVA
MAKE UP: BENJAMIN PUCKEY
NAILS: GERALDINE HOLFORD




Vogue Paris digital edition via Avogadro
 
^she looks awesome there. I love the assuredness in her poses, like she has modeled forever.
 
Dazed Summer 2017
No Wave


Photographed by Collier Schorr
Hair by Holli Smith




streeters
 
Louis Vuitton Cruise show experience



When I tell people I work as a model, I always get a very positive responds as people have this idea that modeling is so easy and amazing and everything about being a model is glamorous. They are right, but far from all the time.

The flip side of the coin is very different and anything but glamorous. With my background since I was 6 as an elite tennis player I’ve been used to high expectations and also to gain a good understanding of nutrition and hard training and therefore I also know that the demands and expectations that is given to the high end fashion models in the industry are often completely unattainable and directly damaging to the human body.

When returning home from many of my trips I have often told my family that I think I look big compared to the other girls and that they are a lot skinnier than myself. As good and understanding parents, well off course they didn’t believe me as they could see that I was very skinny and sometimes worried that I was even unnaturally thin. But when my mom followed me around for show castings, she experienced it first hand. She was shocked to see how unhealthy and sad the majority of the young girls appeared. Many of the girls don’t have their periods, and/or changes the color of their skin because of bad and incorrect nutrition and almost everyone have a completely distorted relationship with food. Sadly enough this is the truth, I can say this because I see and hear this all the time on jobs and shows.

I just returned from Tokyo/Japan, where Louis Vuitton held a beautiful cruise show in Kyoto (the 14th of May), I just never made it to Kyoto cause I was canceled for the show due to being ‘too big’. (I’m a size 34-36)

Months before the show, Louis Vuitton had shown interest in using me and put in an option.

23rd April comes along and I’m measured at my Danish agency and my hips are 92 cm. Knowing the sizes of the clothes, the rigidity of the casters, we decide to tell the caster that I’m under the weather (yes a little white lie) and can’t come to Paris for the fitting the 25th of April and therefor can’t do the show in Japan. Alexia Cheval from Ashley Brokaw Casting asks my French agent if this is the truth and what we can do. We decided to tell them the truth and LV insisted on flying me straight to Paris the next day. I went to the fitting (tried on a dress and a coat) and before I even got back into my own clothes they confirmed me to the show.

I was excited to go to Japan and happy to know that even though I wasn’t in my skinniest ‘show-shape’ Louis Vuitton would still have me in their show. Meanwhile I was working very hard to get my measurements back to “right” (it gets harder and harder each time, it is like my body is working against my hard work, doesn’t respond like it used to).

The day before leaving I did updated measurements at the agency and now I was 91,5 cm on my hips so I had lost 0,5 cm. At least I was smaller than when they confirmed me, I was relieved.

After a 23 hour journey I arrived in Tokyo Wednesday night (10th of April). Thursday at 3:30pm I had my fitting. That day I ate a very small breakfast and had just water and tea before the fitting, because that’s how we do it… I tried my dress and the coat which I was confirmed fitted in Paris. I changed shoes and trousers a couple of times, (also very normal procedure as they want to find the best look). Afterwards I tried on a puffy dress with a semi bare back and then I was done. Right after I had a call from my French agent who told me that I had a refitting the day after (Friday) at 12am (my Danish agent tells me afterwards that Alexia had told my French agent that I needed to take this serious.) Later that night my french agent called me and told me that Alexia had said that there had been some problems during the fitting. According to her I had “a very bloated stomach”, “bloated face”, and urged me to starve myself with this statement “Ulrikke needs to drink only water for the next 24 hours”. I was shocked when I heard it. This was exactly what we have wanted to avoid when we tried to cancel because I was ‘bigger’.

That same evening Louis Vuitton had arranged a nice dinner and karaoke for all the models. I stayed home hungry in bed, because I didn’t want to sit and eat in front of a women who had just expressed that I did not need food.

I woke up at 2am and was extremely hungry. The breakfast started at 6:30am – I had the absolute minimum. I was afraid to meet Alexia so my luck she didn’t arrive until 8am, when my plate was taken off the table. She said good morning to me and the other girls and then looked at me, then down on my non-existent plate and up at me again. She was checking if I had been eating food.

Just before 12am my fitting got rescheduled to an unknown time later that day. It didn’t happen because at 7pm my mother agent from Denmark called my to tell the sad news that Louis Vuitton had chosen to cancel me from the show without the refitting and that I was going to be sent back home. Not only did I have a belly, my face was puffy now also my back was a problem, they now thought that I fitted the dress on my back differently than in Paris… (also saw this on an email at my agency when I came back) I didn’t know whether I should cry or laugh.

I went to dinner with the others models and consciously put my back to the room as I would not be confronted with the people who had just humiliated me on the most ridiculous and unfair basis – I had only done what I’ve been told. 3 hours later I was on a plane going back home.

What should have been a truly amazing and unique experience ended up being a very humiliating experience.

If it was just because they canceled my look (as I didn’t see it on the catwalk) then why the need of harassing me.. saying/writing these things to my agents. Such lack of respect and decency have let me to decide that I will never work under such conditions again.

I arrived back home in Copenhagen Saturday the 13th and my agency asked me to come in first thing Monday morning to see if there was any truth to the reason of the cancelation.

They measured me and took digitals and I was 91,5 cm on my hips (see picture) so again 0,5 cm from the 92cm I was in Paris for the fitting.

(My Danish agency had expressed a wish to my French agency that they would like to have me back in the fitting and have a picture taken, so we could see for ourselves but Alexia had said that there was no way that they would send a picture of a dress that had not been on the catwalk yet, so we got an email instead explaining the cancelation without a picture.)

This is not about me being canceled from a show, I’ve tried that before (all girls on my level have) you win some and you loose some that’s the game. But I cannot accept the ‘normality’ in the behavior of people like this. They find pleasure in power over young girls and will go to the extreme to force an eating disorder on you. If this comes from them or some of the fashion houses I don’t know as I’ve only been dealing with the casters (Alexia and Ashley on cc). Nicholas is super nice and treats everybody with respect and even remembers all the girls names etc. but these sizes of the show pieces are made for women to have eating disorders. Go watch the show and see for yourself, even the smallest tightest pants are loose on the models they book.

I am aware that I’m a product, I can separate that but I have seen way too many girls who are sooo skinny that I don’t even understand how they even walk or talk. It’s so obvious that these girls are in desperate need of help. It’s funny how you can be 0,5 or 1 cm ‘too big’ but never 1-6 cm ‘too small’.

I am glad I am a 20 and not a 15 years old girl, who is new to this and unsure about herself, because I have no doubt that I would then have ended up very sick and scarred long into my adult life.

I have worked/and work with so many wonderful people as well and have great experiences, so a big up to all of you amazing clients with human hearts.

facebook/ulrikkehoyer

You go girl :heart:
 
It's so damn sad this still happening. I'm glad she doesn't take this as the end of the world, seems very mature. I know this is gonna happens again and again, but all the girls who has these awful experiences need to speak out like Ulrikke. It's the only way to ashamed these stupid people.
 
If I hadn't been a fan already I would be now... good on her for speaking out!
 
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Amazingly brave to publish this, way to go Ulrikke!
Don't think she'll be in another Brokaw Line-up. Wonder if they will release a statement or just traditionally choose to ignore this little 'obstacle of truth'.
 
Amazingly brave to publish this, way to go Ulrikke!
Don't think she'll be in another Brokaw Line-up. Wonder if they will release a statement or just traditionally choose to ignore this little 'obstacle of truth'.

Ashley Brokaw posted this:

This post makes me sad to read. Of course its always difficult when a model is canceled, and certainly a horrible position to be in, but I think its important to be fair here. At no time did anyone from my team say to drink only water and not eat. Not only is that untrue, but it's unhealthy but downright dangerous. We told all the girls coming off the plane to drink plenty of water as we did not want anyone dehydrated after such a long flight. The first time I went to Tokyo I was super ill with dehydration and was concerned that girls understood the importance of rehydrating.
Your measurements were never an issue. We flew you to Paris a few weeks before the show to make the clothes specifically for you whatever size you were. We had a fur coat and a trouser made to your measurements. No one asked you to lose weight or slim down to fit a different size. When you arrived in Tokyo the clothes that were made for you, did not fit. We tried you in a few other looks but unfortunately could not find something that worked. We did not have the full atelier in Tokyo so we were left with very few options. We apologized to your agent with you in Tokyo and of course paid you in full for the job.

I know you were disappointed with the outcome but please know, we were as well. We started your visa processing for Japan, back in January. Of course the intention was always to have you in the show. You have been an LV girl since the beginning and we always love having you. We were very limited with what we had in Tokyo and regretfully, didn't have other options. I hope you can find it in your heart to understand this. Much love, ashley
 
After Lv kyoto scandal,I think she will retired from modelling.
 
This will definitely come with some controversy - Ashley's statement as compared to Ulrikke's:
Ulrikke's Statement: “I actually lost weight when I arrived in Tokyo, but they thought I was too big,” she says. “Every outfit in that collection is made for a specific body and that specific body and it was fitted for me. I completely fitted the dress, in Japan as well. Why would Ashley’s assistant tell my agent things like that I have a belly and that I have a bloated face and that my back is bigger or different than it was in Paris? Also, the fact that telling me to drink only water for 24 hours is just so crazy for me to hear. When I had packed my suitcases and was waiting in the lobby to leave, I told the other girls what had happened. The girls said that none of them were told anything about water or nutrition or anything like that. I didn’t write this story to have other people say, 'Oh poor thing!' or anything like that,” she continues. "I don't want people to feel sorry for me, because I don't care that I didn’t do that show — I have been cancelled from shows before. It’s more about speaking out about these huge problems that are in the industry and some of the really big high-end fashion houses are part of these problems. If a girl comes into a fitting for a size zero dress and she’s 0.5cm too big or whatever, she will always be the problem. The dress will never be the problem. The other way around, if a girl comes in and a size zero dress is too big for her, they will make a new dress or alter the dress for her. I think it’s crazy and it’s scary. I’m still a human and I need to be treated right,” adds Hoyer. “To not be able to speak with them on a human level, I think that’s so sad. Even after they cancelled me for the show there was no communication at all between me and the team that was there. I got all my information and communication through my agents in Paris and Denmark. I know by saying my story and speaking out I’m risking it all, but I don't care. Maybe this was my last job, then that’s it. I’m done with working for people that will treat me this way.” (Business of Fashion)
One of her agencies may drop her, Ashley will probably never cast her for a LV show again, as well as the Instagram and Facebook virality, which of course will result in controversial comments of its own. However, I give huge props to her for speaking out about something most models wouldn't - I don't personally think she's lying and love her so much for addressing mistreatment in the industry.
 
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Ulrikke's interview with models.com:
Did you ever second guess yourself as you were writing the Facebook post? Yes many times. I didn’t have the best sleep last night as I was shifting between if I should or not. You know I didn’t want to sound bitter or hurt by being canceled from a show. When you reach into the “higher prestigious” end of the fashion business, you are also lucky and told how amazing it is that you simply lose sense in what is right and wrong, it becomes the norm. At the same time I am grateful to Louis Vuitton who were some of the first ones to believe in me and when I had my doubtful moments yesterday it’s because I then felt like a traitor. You know I love working as a model also when it’s hard mentally and physically but it must make sense as well.

As a model do you feel pressure to be silent? To not speak out. Of course, it’s kind of the job. We enter this knowing we are a product bought for the day and that we in the end are nobody and after we have been here, the same decision makers will still decide who is who and what is what. That’s fine with me, I get it. During my young life, I’ve heard fashion stories about models saying something and everybody goes crazy and then it dies again. It will be the same here, but I made a decision that I never want to be treated like that again and if this was my last job then so be it, so I thought at least I should try and help all the ones who really want this badly to have better conditions…it’s a little hope.

I wanted to know if you felt more unafraid to speak out partially because of all of the recent discourses and first-hand reports that had been published online and the support that people had shown towards those incidents of mistreatment. Yes definitely, I feel that it could be a movement and if my story can keep that ball rolling then maybe there is a slight hope for change. And hey it’s not that hard as I work with other teams and designers where it’s great.

Naming names–Do you feel it’s the only way change can come, which is by holding people accountable for their actions? YES! It’s the only way – otherwise you wouldn’t ask me these questions.

What did you want people to take away from your speaking out? Did you hope to motivate other models who have perhaps stayed quiet when they felt mistreated? Yes either that or leave (the business). I see too many stay for an unhealthily long time and its abuse to their psyche and body. It also then becomes a waste of time for other great things in life”

As the industry stands, do you feel empowered or the opposite? I only feel empowered if people (who agree) stand up for this and backs it up, otherwise it will lose attention and things go back to how it was before. AGAIN I’m not saying that everybody and all companies are bad, far from that, but some are.

What advice would you want to give in regards to managing your own well-being while being subjected to often unrealistic expectations? Get knowledge, work to the max and if your max isn’t healthy mentally or physically or taking you further then look for something else.

Ulrikke's agent, Arnaud Daian to BOF:
“Alexia Cheval called me and she mentioned that now Ulrikke must only drink water until her next fitting and that it’s time for her to take it seriously if she wanted to be in the show. The next day they texted me and said that she would not be in the show, whilst Ulrikke was waiting in the hotel for her fitting. Nobody told her anything. They made her feel terrible and nobody took the time to speak to her.”
 
Why would her agency drop her? By the looks of it, it looks like they'll stand right by her seeing as they've even put themselves on the line.

Ulrikke may not work for Ashley anymore but I think she'll still book work. I skimmed through her comments (there are a lot as we all know) and quite a few brands commented under showing their support. I can even see Scully booking her more for his shows as well. She may have a down swing in jobs for a bit, but then she'll be booking.
 
Oui will most definitely stay with her - the agent that went with her to Tokyo (Arnaud) is with Oui, however the other agencies might get mad that she spoke up. Hopefully her agencies will let her go to the Brandon Maxwell casting, because Scully casts there, and Ulrikke will almost definitely get casted if she goes. It depends on what the bookers and agents do about it.
 
I really hope this controversy does nothing to harm her bookings, on the contrary, I still hope to keep seeing her around. I see some brands showing support so who knows, maybe in the end this LV controversy will help her gain more notoriety.
 

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