Life of a Model

A model awaits for at least three hours, until the fashion show and the other models are eating salad, drinking tea and talking about where they’re be going next.  They come from various places and are about the same age as her – nineteen and probably have just two things in their minds getting a new contract and finding a rich husband.

She knows their beauty routine.  Before sleeping they apply sundry creams to cleanse their pores and keep their skin moisturized, thus from early on, making their skin dependent on artificial substances to maintain an ideal equilibrium.  In the morning they apply more cream and more moisturizer.  They drink a cup of black coffee with no sugar and eat some fruit and fiber.  So that any other food they consume throughout the day will pass quickly through.  Then they do some stretching exercised before setting off in search of work.  They are too young to start working out in a gym and besides, their bodies might take on muscular contours.  They get on to the scales three or four times a day; in fact most of them always have their own scales, just in case  because sometimes they stay in boarding houses rather than hotels.  They get depressed each time the pointer on the scales tells them they have gained another ounce.

Most of the models are only seventeen or eighteen, so their mothers go with them whenever possible.  The girls never admit to being in love with anyone although most of them are.  Their dreams go beyond being a model, however they know that soon they’ll be overtaken by new faces, new trends and so urgently need to show that they can do more than just stride down a cat walk.  They are always nagging their agencies to get them a screen test, so that they can demonstrate that they have got what it taken to become an actress, their great dream.

Most model agencies don’t have any contacts outside the fashion world.  Its best to get what they can now, before time passes and the model crosses the dangerous age barrier of twenty by too many moisturizers, her body ruined by too much low calorie food and her mind already affected by the remedies she takes to inhibit appetite and which end up leaving eyes and head completely empty.

Contrary to what most people think models pay their own expenses – flights, hotels and those inevitable salads.  They are summoned by a designer’s assistant to do what is known as “Casting”, namely, selecting who will appear on the catwalk or in the photos. These young models go to any party they are invited to.  They behave as if they are much more important than they are.  Knowing, deep down that they would love someone to break through the artificial barrier of ice they create around themselves.  They  look at older men with a mixture of revulsion and attraction, they know that such men have to necessary money to help them make a big leap, but at the same time, don’t want to be seem to be nothing but high class whores.  They are always seen with a glass of champagne in one hand, but that’s just part of the image they want to project.  They know that alcohol can affect their weight so there preferred drink is glass of still mineral water because although fizzy water doesn’t affect their weight, it has immediate consequences on the shape of the stomach.  They have ideas, dreams, dignity, but all these things will vanish one day, when they can no longer disguise the early onset of cellulite.

They make a secret pact with themselves, never to think about the future.  They spend much of what they earn on beauty products promising eternal youth.  They adore shoes, but they are so expensive, nevertheless, they sometimes treat themselves and buy a pair of the very best.  They get clothes from the friends in the fashion world at half the usual price.  They share a small apartment with their parents, a brother, who is at university and a sister who’s chosen to be librarian or a scientist.  Everyone assumes the girl must be earning a fortune and frequently ask them for loans, to which the girls agree because they want to appear important, rich, generous and different from other mortals.  When they to the bank, though their account is always in the red and they have overshot their credit card limit.

They acquire hundred of business cards, meet well-dressed men who make proposals of work they know to be false, but they phone them now and them to keep in touch, conscious that they might need help comes at a price.  They all fall into the same traps.  They all dream of easy success, only to realize that it doesn’t exist.  By seventeen, they have all suffered innumerable disappointments, betrayals, humiliations, and yet still they believe.

They sleep badly because of the various pills they take.  They listen to stories about anorexia – the commonest illness in their world, a kind of mental disturbance caused by obsession with weight and one’s physical appearance, and which culminates in the body rejecting all nourishment.  They say it won’t ever happen to them, but never notice when the first symptom appear. They step out of childhood straight into a world of glitz and glamour without passing through adolescence.  When asked what their plans are for the future they always have the answer on the tip of their tongue; “I am going to study philosophy, I am working just to pay for my studies.” They don’t have time for college because there is always a casting sessions in the morning, a photo shoot in the afternoon, a cocktail party before dark, then another party they have to go to in order to be seen admired and desired.

To other people, they seem to lead a family – tale existence – And for a while they too, believe that this is the real meaning of the after all, they have almost everything they once envied in the girl who appeared in the magazines and cosmetic ads.  With a little discipline they can even save a little money, until, after a careful, daily examination of their skin, they discover the first mark left by age.  After that, they know it’s only a matter of time before a designer or a photographer notices the same thing.  Their days are numbered.

Class “A” models earn around 1,500 dollars for one evening’s work, for this they have to have a lot of charisma and above all, a future in the film industry.  Class “B” models, professionals who are brilliant on the catwalk, have the right kind of figure, but are not likely enough to be taking part in any parallel events as special guests at the parties put on by the large conglomerates, and they will earn between 600 dollars 800 dollars.  The rest will be made up of class “C” models, girls who have recently entered the mad world of fashion shows and who earn between 200 and 300 dollars simply to gain experience. The majority of the models are under age and in most of the countries in the world, anyone engaging in under age sex is likely to end up in jail.  The legend differs greatly from the reality; no model gets to the top because of her sexual generosity.

There is more to it than that. Charisma, luck, the right agent.  Being in the right place at the right time.  And the right time, according to the trend adapters isn’t what these girls new to the fashion world think it is.  Public is tired of seen strange anorexic creatures of indefinite age, but with provocative eyes the casting (who choose the models) are looking for something which is, apparently, extremely difficult to find, the girl next door, that is someone who sees her on posters or in the fashion magazines the sense that she is just like them.  And finding that extraordinary girl who appears to be so “ordinary” is an almost impossible task.  There are no set standards for male beauty.

 

Fashion for women, sport for men, celebrities for both the sexes, those are the only things that interest everyone and the only things that can get a country image recognized on the international scene. Few minutes before, all models have to take off all their underwear because bras and panties might leave visible marks underneath the clothes they will be wearing.

The different classes of models – A, B and C are all suffering from varying degrees of nerves, with the least experienced, being the most excited.  Some are saying a prayer; others are trying to peer through the curtains to see if anyone they know is there, or if their mother or father managed to get a good seat.

They have been taught that “always be polite to the press, but never give a direct answer and say that only what seems appropriate at the time.”