Throughout the course of New York Fashion Week several exciting new faces will make their first appearances on the runway. If they’re lucky, they’ll become It girls, buzzed-about and followed on social media, walking dozens of shows and taking their careers to London, Milan, and Paris. At the end of the season, we’ll count the number of shows they wind up walking and cross our fingers for campaign season. And then, for the most part, we’ll forget about them.
Not surprisingly for an industry focused on youth, modeling’s talent pool operates via a revolving door. Girls come, they have their moment, and then unless photographers, stylists, and fashion magazines latch onto them, they fade back into obscurity. For every Mica Arganaraz or Anna Ewers there are ten anonymous girls who serve primarily as runway filler, walking tons of shows but never quite translating that into the real paying work beyond the catwalk. A breakout season is a compelling thing to watch—who doesn’t love the A Star Is Born drama of a new face skyrocketing to fame?—but true modeling success requires longevity, stability, and a consistent paycheck in order to survive. As we enjoy the controlled chaos of fashion month, let’s not forget that the true test of a model’s longevity comes long after the shows wrap and the street style photographers go home.
Opening a big show—even opening several big shows—can provide a model with exposure, but with lowered pay rates for those shows, campaigns increasingly going to celebrities, and a limited number of high-paying jobs within the market, even models who do well on the catwalk can find themselves struggling. Granted, social media has opened up a whole new revenue stream for models, and public interest in the lives of fashion insiders is at an all-time high, but only a select few have the resolve and the Instagram appeal to turn social media savvy into a profitable side hustle.
In order for models to be more than one-season wonders, they need support from agencies and the fashion community at large—to be treated less like disposable clothing hangers and more like young working professionals. By making the focus less about the glory of a stellar 7-day sprint through the shows and more about the development of skills, relationships, and connections that can last a lifetime, there is a real chance that even more great models will not just stick around longer, but that they’ll flourish.
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