Legitimate The Word That Makes or Breaks a Model's Career

While the fashion industry might have its perks on the surface with Big pay checks, overseas trips, private suites, fabulous parties, free entry, designer clothes, stylists and an impossibly beautiful posse alongside you wherever you’d want, it may also have a darker truth that most of us are unaware of. We all know fashion week schedules are a grind from the vogue and harper bazaar vlogs we have tuned into but do we really know what is under the surface, what these individuals have to go through on a daily basis in the industry. It is understood that only the thick skinned can survive the ups and downs that come along with the job but what happens when the people that control the reigns get under your skin, how long can one immune themselves to their own emotions until it results in self-harm or self-esteem issues. 

Many issues come to highlight when you go deeper into why models leave the industry at the peek of their careers, the simplest answer is that they can’t take it anymore and this is due to the body shaming, depression, eating disorders (purging which maybe the biggest one), comparisons made, the drugs, the stress and the lifestyle that demands more than it gives back. Most of them end up resorting to substance abuse like alcohol, drug addiction and self-prescribed medications like antidepressants to escape the work pressures. One of the many modelling industry facts that may surprise is that a study conducted by the US Centre for Disease Control compared the suicide rates across occupations, found a strong link between fashion industry occupations and mental illness. There are constant sceptical eyes on every move they make even in their own private lives, the problem with this job is that there is not much privacy left, you are perpetually in the public eye and scrutinized for the right and wrong reasons. As fashion weeks follow hot on each other's heels in New York, London, Milan and Paris, hundreds of models travel to the four fashion capitals in the hope of getting work, but many will go home financially worse off than when they arrived.

A model seems to be the centre of attention: the agency, clients, designers, makeup artists, stylists, photographers, media and, of course, paparazzi. While all this attention may feel enticing, it also means a lot of demands and pressure. Models must work for hours or even days to get a single shot right. The demands of creative directors, stylists and whoever else involved in the process can get to be tougher to the extent of becoming unreasonable. Unwanted attention, sexual harassment along with sexual abuse are quite common in this industry. The presence of a casting couch are subtle but undeniable secrets.  More importantly, not everyone can make it to the top like Kate Moss or Gisele Bundchen or stay there for long for that matter. Most models keep struggling and end up fizzling out eventually. A dark side of fashion is that there is no job security in their line of work and models are replaced faster than anyone else in the job industry and are bound to side-lined and forgotten by their agencies as soon as someone younger or sexier comes along.  

I think everyone in the Fashion industry has a responsibility to protect these young girls and be candid with them about the realities of that life, not to mention the unrealistic expectations. They walk in with all the joy and confidence they have and have the world handed to them without proper warning of how quickly the world spins when you are holding it in your hand. 

The grim, dark fashion irony is that despite the non-stop partying this career can be intense as well as lonely. Frequent traveling and odd working hours leave less time for real or long-lasting friendships. The need to maintain a certain persona all the time negatively impacts ability to create meaningful bonds. The intense competition, professional squabbles, jealousies, and lack of trust can be nerve-wracking.

Cara Delevingne one of the biggest models of the 21st century, also a former Victoria secret model quit stating in her interview with Vogue magazine "I was, like, fight and flight for months. Just constantly on edge," Cara says about her life as a model, which she says affected her so much that she developed a psoriasis outbreak. "It is a mental thing as well because if you hate yourself and your body and the way you look, it just gets worse and worse."    

"Modelling just made me feel a bit hollow after a while," she adds. "It didn't make me grow at all as a human being. And I kind of forgot how young I was. I felt so old."

Although due to the presence of social media and voices being raised against the unjust behaviour. The fashion industry has not been blind to the recent rise in body-positivity. In the past year, Ashley Graham landed on Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue cover, Gigi Hadid posted a much-liked Instagram take-down of body shamers, and France banned models with a BMI below 18 from working. 

Despite this industry having its many flaws, it is also an amalgamation of strong empowered women ready to conquer the world one step at a time. They are the face of the fashion industry and no job comes without its added baggage so a few ways to survive this demanding lifestyle and master it is that you need to make friends with other models that are thriving especially if you are just starting out so you can learn from them but also avoid getting comfortable and playing it safe by staying in the same position, strive constantly for more.

Get to the top and overcome ever obstacle that comes in your path with grace. Have Thick Skin, walk the runway like a boss as if everything is perfectly in place. You need to convince the client and your audience that you are at your absolute best for them to believe you. Dress the way you want, with your own signature touch to your style but not overdone especially for casting calls do what the role requires and please your audience. The Modelling Industry Waits For No One so never be late for any appointment. It is important that you keep time and ensure that you are giving the absolute best of who you are out there. You are likely to be spotted easily if you bring your ‘A’ game to the auditions. Getting a specific gig may not be as easy as most people imagine. Modelling takes work, and you must be willing to go the extra mile.

Making a mark in the modelling industry is not an easy one and that is why people give up so easy, you need to learn how to always stay relevant and always be on your toes even if that means you face some criticism. This will help you get more opportunities, help grow and learn from every mistake, wrong turn, or push down and your career may elevate to standards you could not ever imagine.