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The Fall 2019 shows may have come and gone, but the debate around model casting is far from over. Though the season played host to a number of epic runway comebacks—the return of supermodels Christy Turlington and Stephanie Seymour at Marc Jacobs and Versace respectively; Beverly Peele’s surprise appearance at Zendaya x Tommy Hilfiger—it was also dominated by a freshman class of models under the age of 18. Prada, Givenchy, and Louis Vuitton sought out Sofia Steinberg, the 16-year-old Russian, while Stella McCartney, Valentino, and Loewe called upon 16-year-old British rookie Emily Driver. At 17, Mona Tougaard swept Paris Fashion Week, landing nearly all the city’s key shows, as did 17-year-old Brazilian Mariana Barcelos.
Young models are nothing new. Kate Moss famously began her career at 14, and the frenzy over Kaia Gerber’s sweet-16 runway debut at Calvin Klein’s Spring 2018 show is still fresh in fashion’s collective memory. Still, sweeping change has come to the modeling industry in the past two years. Since August of last year, when Condé Nast issued a global vendor code of conduct stipulating that models under the age of 18 would no longer be photographed for editorials, a recommendation supported by the CFDA, casting directors and brands in New York have by and large committed to the rules. Moreover, the new standard seems to have opened up a larger conversation around age inclusivity on the runway: The Fall 2019 shows in New York were the most diverse when it came to age.
In Europe, major fashion players have gotten on board. At Alexander McQueen, creative director Sarah Burton invited longtime favorites, such as Stella Tennant and Saskia de Brauw, to appear alongside relative newbies Kerolyn Saores and Adut Akech, who are 24 and 19 respectively, hammering home a message of fully grown feminine power.
And yet runway success stories remain the exception rather than the rule. With regulations varying from city to city and cultural mores about age dependent on the location, a global consensus still feels far off. Even those setting the standard for casting are reluctant to embrace an official mandate. “There was a lot of age diversity in the Fall 2019 shows, [and] if it’s right for the collection, then yes, but I don’t think we need rules,” says Jess Hallett, the casting director behind Burton’s elegant McQueen lineup. “I think that the industry as a whole is working very hard to make sure models, especially young models, feel safe at work. This can only get better.”
For Sara Ziff, founder and executive director of the Model Alliance, a collective response to the issue of underage models is long overdue. “What’s really needed are industry-wide standards that are actually enforceable, because even in the United States, where we’ve seen more progress, there still aren’t [legal] standards,” she explains on the phone from New York. “Companies haven’t made any kind of significant binding commitment to not hire underage models, for example, or to any number of other labor rights concerns that we've been working to address.” An ongoing reminder of fashion’s obsession with youth, the consequences of working with models barely old enough to drive are manifold. “When we see a child representing the physical ideal of feminine beauty, we should ask ourselves what this represents,” says Ziff. “Children are not, for the most part, buying these clothes. The customer is a grown woman and our stake in this is that the use of underage models is linked to pressures to maintain an adolescent physique. That, in turn, results in eating disorders, which we know are very prevalent in the industry.”
What’s more, these unhealthy beauty standards are fueling a disturbing culture of disposability. A newcomer can be successful for months, only to find themselves replaced the moment their stats change or someone younger comes along. “[The European] shows continue to accelerate the revolving-door careers of inexperienced and underage talent. Season after season, this systematically ushers in a new collection of inexperienced, homogenous talent and ushers out the very same talent that was deemed show-worthy only six months earlier,” says Chris Gay, co-CEO of Elite World, the management company behind stars such as Kendall Jenner and Adriana Lima. “Our industry as a whole needs to work together and remember that we are working with young people who should always be given an opportunity to learn, grow, and refine their potential.”
Reformers like Ziff are proposing a solution: The Respect Program, a legally binding agreement that enforces an industry-wide code of conduct addressing sexual harassment, discrimination, financial transparency, and age-appropriate work for underaged talent ie. nothing that includes nudity, or sexual themes. Ziff’s contract contrasts with the many informal pledges that have been announced over the years. In 2017, Both Kering and LVMH committed to a charter on model well-being that included a proposed ban on size 0 runway stars and the stipulation that models under the age of 16 not be hired for shows or advertising work where they represent adults. Additionally, those between the ages of 16 and 18 must be accompanied by a chaperone when they are on the clock. For agencies, adhering to the existing regulations is essential if they want to continue to work with the numerous brands controlled by both corporations.
In the interim, modeling’s leaders are seeking out ways to address the issue at hand. Simon Chambers, the director of Storm Models, which represents Emily Driver and Isabel Jones (two of the season’s most visible under 18-year-olds), is mindful of why of getting things right matters. “[Modeling] is something that has to work and fit in with the bigger picture of someone’s life,” he explains. “You have to make sure that all the relevant and responsible parties are completely aware of what’s going on, and that they agree with the strategy going forward and what we do daily. We work incredibly closely with our parents, guardians, and families from day one.”
For Chambers, the debate involving models under 18 isn’t cut-and-dried. Demand for young talent—particularly from labels centered on teen culture—remains high. “There is a debate there: If a brand is marketing to people who are 16, 17 years old, it should it be okay as long as the models are looked after properly,” he says, noting that the less glamorous work of e-commerce and advertising requires long hours, though designers still want youthful insouciance to sell clothes. “[Brands] definitely want a rebellious vibe in terms of attitude, and [models] are picked, in some ways, as much for their character as their beauty. It’s a seven-day-week business virtually, so there will also be models who are older and out of school but have a young attitude.”
Storm adheres to the guidelines set by the British Fashion Council and Art Trade Association regarding models being above “school-leaving age,” but the decision about when work should begin is tackled individually. “You have to take it on a person-by-person basis sometimes, because not all 16-, 17-year-olds are the same,” says Chambers. “That is something that we consider very carefully, the speed at which a person progresses.” Within that framework, the choice involves parents becoming part of the team. “Last Fashion Week we had two models [who were under 18] walking runways—one was accompanied by her dad and the other by her mom,” says Chambers referring to Driver, 16, and Jones, 17. “We maintain the dialogue with the parents all the way along the line.”
Of course, not everyone has family members who can devote several weeks to chaperoning young models or foot the bill for international travel to accompany them backstage. While top-tier agencies have dedicated staff for such an eventuality, their practice is left to the discretion of management companies. The lack of clear checks and balances coupled with the differences in law from country to country can result in confusion, especially for models eager to make a name for themselves. “There’s a reason why a child cannot sign a contract without a parent or guardian cosigning, because they are not in a position to make informed decisions on their own,” says Ziff who’s eager to see legislation that protects models, even from themselves. “There are an awful lot of girls who dream of becoming the next Kendall Jenner or Kaia Gerber who are willing to sacrifice their primary education for a shot at success, but we know it’s only the 1 percent who ever get that kind of fame and fortune. You have to ask what are these girls missing—are they being set up for failure?”