Model.Live Episode 11: Let’s Talk Money
I’m far from an expert when it comes to knowing the ins and outs of the modelling industry. However, the little I did know prior to Model.Live has been supplanted by a wealth of perspective. And in that, I’ll say this: models have it tough.
An open Madeline fills us in on all this in a frank episode that shows how she’s faring post show season. Conveniently juxtaposed against Madeline’s morose economic breakdown of the modelling industry is the high spirits we find her in throughout this episode courtesy of Jimmy, her boyfriend who joins her all the way from down under!
So here I am thinking that these models at Bryant Park are raking in wads of money, but in actuality payments for shows can range from a couple thousand dollars to a measly dress! That’s not to say being handed a rocking pair of Alexander Wang‘s distressed denim shorts is half bad, but it’s the principle of it all. I’m sure these designers know good and well that the average model on IMG’s books is scraping by so what is a dress really going to do for their financial situation? Then again, who cares right?
On the flipside, if you are a blue blood, then you can flirt with the thought of receiving a tidy sum of maybe $20,000, but not every model ranks alongside Linda Evangelista and her $10,000 minimum just to roll out of bed. Amidst efforts to catapult one’s career, Madeline (and the gazillion other models who, for the moment, lie at the bottom of the rung) must tough it out for the first year or two in order to establish themselves. Sadly, all these pains are clouded by piles and piles of debt that take on a “no end in sight visage. From paying rent on that swanky agency-owned apartment to forking out $500 for model cards, the expenses can be quite intimidating when walking fashion shows pay next to nothing and landing a campaign is a reality that is few and far between for emerging starlets like Madeline.
To our pleasure, Madeline goes on to book two campaigns so odds are she won’t have to settle for that derelict mattress after all!
Author: Ikechukwu Onyewuenyi
a son of Nigeria who spent much of his early years living in Sydney, Australia before making the hop across the pond to the U.S. to finish his studies. He shuttles between two alter egos: one as an ardent scientist and the other as an aficionado of the arts. He flirts on a regular basis with artistic pursuits such as photography, fashion, and freelance journalism with hopes of eventually settling into a cushy career of photojournalism when his midlife crisis rolls around!
