Photo By Ben Rosser
Standing in the lobby of a New York City SoHo building, Kyler Manjone clutches a black portfolio with her
nude-colored nails. She’s waiting to audition as a model for a Yves Saint Laurent future make-up and beauty campaign, a highly coveted role for a woman trying to make her mark in the competitive, cut-throat modeling industry.She’ll wait anxiously for the next few days, but doesn’t receive a call back. Manjone’s agent doesn’t call if she doesn’t book the job. And she’s been receiving less and less of those calls recently. She’s only gone to three castings this week, a far cry from where she needs to be to succeed as a model in New York City.
Only 1,400 women and men held full-time modeling jobs in 2010 in the US, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, making it one of the most difficult fields to break into. In 2010, the median salary was $32,920 and the average hourly wage was just $15.83 per hour. In a review of the book
Pricing Beauty: The Making of a Fashion Model by author and former fashion model Ashley Mears, New Republic magazine claims models are only paid $500 to walk in the coveted London Fashion Week. Even with the low average salaries and high barriers for entry, models like Manjone continue to flock to big cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Miami.
Mariah Morrison moved cross-country from Washington State to New York City last summer at 17 to pursue her dream of becoming a supermodel. Although relatively uncommon, she propelled rapidly in the industry and says it didn’t come without some uncertainty.
“It’s not a job where you can forget about it at night; the pressure is always around,” says Morrison. “This is an industry where 15 year olds will deprive themselves of food and a healthy childhood. I see that a lot.”
Morrison has walked for Timo Weiland, Costello Tagliapietra, Osman, Laura Biagiotti and Moncler in Paris, Milan, New York and London. She offers some guidance to men and women like Manjone, “Come in with confidence and a good attitude. Put aside all the negative comments made about you,” she says. “There will be many.”
Both Morrison’s and Manjone’s ambitions are a dime a dozen says industry veteran Ryan Colby, who has worked in the fashion industry for 28 years. He began as a model and now has his own agency, Colby Models, which represents over 130 models in New York.
“Back in 1984, no one wanted to be a model so I always had work. Now it’s the most sought-after career in the world,” Colby says.
Over the past thirty years, demands for models have shifted geographically from Brazil to Russia, driven by editorial needs and what’s in fashion. Peter Fitzpatrick, Director of Silent Models New York, says now recruitment has moved westward away from Russia towards the Scandinavian countries like Holland, Denmark and Sweden.
“There’s been an increase in the supply of models, but seemingly the demand has remained fixed,” says Fitzpatrick. He also adds agency “new face” internet submissions have opened more opportunities for models from around the world. “They are hungrier to make it in the business. This means more models chasing jobs providing a greater diversity in the market today than there was 20 years ago.”
The recession took an immense toll on consumer spending which hurt the high-end market economy. But, Fitzpatrick says, things have certainly started to recover. “Retailers are starting to spend again, but they are being a lot smarter about how they advertise.”
Now a photo shoot for internet retailers doesn’t just consist of taking pictures. Photographers and advertisers are branching out, shooting models walking on a runway, trying to showcase their clothing in an innovative way to attract more consumers. The use of web analytics can show which models are selling specific clothing. This could mean more opportunities for editorial models like Manjone.
Following a near-fatal car accident, Manjone was determined to pursue her “America’s Next Top Model” aspirations even though, at 22, she was considered near retirement age in the industry. She routinely went to agency open calls but didn’t receive any definitive leads. Internationally known agencies like Ford and Elite have thousands of models at their every beck and call, says Manjone.
Last summer she decided to sign with Fenton Moon, a small boutique agency on the Upper East Side. Since then, she’s appeared on “Project Runway” and has modeled for MAC and Sephora. Though her work has shifted to mostly paid jobs, she still has to have a part-time job on the side.
“A lot of girls have a second job, probably about 70 percent of girls in the industry, and 10 percent of them just live for free in model apartments,” she says.
“Models don’t have a choice,” Colby says about fill-in jobs. “At the beginning of their careers, it’s non-negotiable. Most of them work as hostesses or at clothing stores.” Young and inexperienced, “they don’t have a concept of how they’ll have to sacrifice emotionally, physically and monetarily.”
Through her steady job as a hostess and coat checker at a restaurant in the Meatpacking district, Manjone could finally afford to rent an apartment in Inwood, on the northern most tip of Manhattan. While her night job brings her some sense of financial stability, she says it’s definitely tough doing both. She usually works at Catch from 10pm to 4am then has early morning castings; she frequently runs on three hours of sleep.
With the right agency, Manjone’s model friends don’t need a second job. Models salaries often depend on their demand, determined by the quality of fashion shows and fashion magazines they’ve been featured in.They can make up to $20,000 to appear in advertisements for nationally recognized brands. A Ralph Lauren ad or a Bloomingdale’s mail card will pay around $10,000 per shoot.
But, the business isn’t as lucrative as one might think, Manjone says. Vogue cover models can receive as little as $500 because most girls will pose primarily for the exposure. There was a time when models were frequently featured on fashion magazine covers until Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintor popularized celebrities on covers. Even so, “it hasn’t cannibalized the industry as much as people think,” says Fitzpatrick. “Celebrities charge seven figures, so there’s still a lot of money to be made in this industry.”
“The real money is made hair and cosmetic campaigns. An Estée Lauder contract could be six figures because you have the day rate plus usage fees,” he says.
Like so many, Manjone dreams of seeing herself on billboards and in every magazine. Despite the uphill battle that lies ahead, she says she’ll do whatever it takes to model in one of the biggest, most job-competitive cities in the world.
“It’s not really what if. If you want it, continue trying to do it and it has to happen,” she says. “If you have a Plan B, you’re already thinking about failure.”
