A Recent Report Illuminates More Model Abuse

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Last month veteran casting director James Scully opened a conversation about abusive behavior towards models in the fashion industry. In a series of Instagram posts, he named names of brands and other casting directors who were offenders, but the revelation that made the most news was Maida Gregori Boina and Rami Fernandes locking models in a dark stairwell for hours before a Balenciaga casting.

As a follow up to Scully’s truth telling, models.com posted a survey that they conducted of 13 working models. The results yielded horrific allegations that illuminate endemic problems within the industry, as well as a candid discussion on how modeling impacts mental health.

Two anonymous participants in the survey not only confirmed the Balenciaga story, but claimed that the knowledge of the casting duo’s misconduct is widely known. One anonymous model said, “I was at that Balenciaga casting that has brought up the recent conversations, and it definitely wasn’t nice, but I didn’t think it was that exceptionally bad.” She continued, “For the first big show I walked, I waited about 17 hours for the fitting.” Another said that agents are aware and complicit in the abuse. “Let’s keep in mind that every single agent in New York knew exactly what Maida and Rami were doing, but they weren’t going to say a damn thing.”

Other participants made even more shocking claims. Fernanda Ly said that she was the victim of sexual assault on a shoot. “I was once shooting a lookbook where the stylist, helping me dress, used this chance to feel my body up much more than necessary and continued to do so throughout the entire shoot.” Another anonymous model claimed they were fired for their gender identity, “When [the designer] found out I was transgender, something no one knows about to this day, they cancelled my booking.”

Many of the other participants in the survey made accusations of financial exploitation by agencies and being constantly told they were overweight. One model, who spoke anonymously, said that in many instances body dysmorphia is a result of girls being cast when they’re too young, “[When] your body changes, the pressure that is put on you to return to your 14 year-old body is immense and I do not think it is healthy.” Petra Zatkova blames her anorexia and other severe health problems on a former agent who had been obsessively taking her measurements and constantly telling her to lose weight. “Modeling psychically destroyed me. I’ve also experienced hair loss and heart arrhythmia caused by stress.”

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