They are the objects of envy, lust, admiration and even disdain with their smooth and silky hair, long legs and thin faces and waistlines.
Models seem to have an easy life, at least to those who don’t know about all the hours they spend on catwalks, wearing makeup that damages their hair and skin.
And while some super models are millionaires, millions more struggle for scraps.
Ukrainian Fashion Week, which ended on March 21, was once again a parade of flamboyant, dramatic and sometimes quirky fashion items that cost thousands of dollars for those who want to wear them.
Prepared to be impressed, if not entertained, thousands of socialites and politicians lined up the catwalk to witness new collections. Hundreds of Ukrainian models put these colorful shows to life for… $50 a show.
Models backstage prepare to present designer Alexey Zalevskiy’s extravagant collection during Ukrainian Fashion Week on March 18. (Alexey Furman)
“We can’t ask for more. After the financial crisis, there is not much work and the market is big,” said Svitlana Likhtina, director of model agency Inter Models. She said that thousands of models across Ukraine compete against each other to get a contract during one of the few fashion weeks or some event where a pretty face is needed.
“I am shocked. The lowest salary in Europe per one show is around 500 euro,” said top model Dji Dieng from France, a guest at Ukrainian Fashion Week. The former model of Christian Dior and Vivienne Westwood fashion houses, she said models should earn more.
“We’re just selling ourselves short. All the time we’re doing it over and over again,” said one of the models preparing to go onstage. She refused to share her name being afraid of losing a contract with her agency.
God, it was a disaster! The Italian agency covered her flight, hotel and gave some $80-100 a week for food and transport, which she had to pay back at the end of her contract.
– Olha Gesheva, recalling her first experience.
Others added that they put up with small fees only to get experience before they can get a contract abroad. Olha Gesheva, 21, is one of them.
Tall and slim, this blue-eyed Ukrainian from Zaporizhya became a model at the age of 15. Sussing out that making ends meet at Ukrainian catwalks will be a problem, she found the way out, to Milan.
“God, it was a disaster!” she recalled her first experience. The Italian agency covered her flight, hotel and gave some $80-100 a week for food and transport, said Gesheva, which she had to pay back at the end of her contract.
Already in Milan, she had to look for work with fashion houses. The receiving agency would send her to every casting they wanted and even if she had eight to 10 castings a day, no one cared how tired or hungry she was, remembered the model.
“Sometimes up to 200 girls are waiting in line since early morning. You can’t say ‘no’ unless you’re very sick and you can’t be late; otherwise, you’ll get fined because it’s all in the contract,” explained Gesheva.
A model can’t lose or gain weight during the term of the contract. “You can add up to two centimeters, that’s it. But it’s better not to mess with your size, or you’ll be fined or even sent back home.” If a model fails to get a job with a fashion house in the first three weeks, the agency will send her back home.
Gesheva was lucky and got a job but still not much money since the agency claimed nearly 60 percent of her income. “Say you are paid$150 per hour of posing. At the end, you can count only on $45.”
In Asia, the situation is better than in Europe, Ukrainian models say. Agencies charge less – some 35-50 percent of your earnings, and there is more work. Some countries offer models a fixed payment of $1,000 per month, but if they earn more, they can’t keep it.
“Make sure you put a lot of makeup on if you cast in Asia,” said Gesheva sharing her experience about China. “All Europeans look the same to them so it’s important to stand out. Also if they shoot you for a magazine, you probably won’t get paid at all because they are giving you a very nice picture for your lookbook. Why bother paying?”
French top model Dji Dieng (Susanne Stemmer)
French model Dieng said that foreign models don’t get treated like that. “You always have a choice and always get paid. Your flights and accommodation are not your problem.”
I am single and lonely. I travel, I work all the time and I don’t get to see my family for two-three months. How can you manage to have a personal life living like this?
– Dji Dieng, supermodel
But at the same time there is a price to pay for many of them, no matter how popular they are. “I am single and lonely,” said supermodel Dieng whose face often graces popular fashion magazines. “I travel, I work all the time and I don’t get to see my family for two-three months. How can you manage to have a personal life living like this?”
Joining the modeling business is a risky affair – nobody knows the road ahead. The job description may be simple – walking up and down the catwalk fully dressed or undressed – but only a select few make their name and face recognizable in the industry.
In Ukraine, it seems, this road is thornier than in Europe. But the trick is to not lose oneself in the run for fame and fortune. “Beauty withers with time, but what’s in your heart stays the same,” said Dieng.
Kyiv Post staff writer Yuliya Raskevich can be reached at [email protected]
