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Quick News Updates

Over 200 renowned fashion models, including icons like Christy Turlington, Helena Christensen, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Beverly Johnson, have united to demand action from New York Governor Kathy Hochul. In an open letter, they urge her to sign a critical bill of rights designed to protect models from sexual harassment, discrimination, and the rising challenges posed by AI technologies.

The legislation, known as the Fashion Workers Act, successfully passed through the New York Assembly and Senate back in June. However, it still awaits Governor Hochul’s approval to become law, with a looming deadline of December 24. “As models, we know firsthand how urgently we need basic labor protections to create a safe, equitable work environment in the fashion industry,” the letter states passionately. The models emphasize their shared experiences, saying, “Each one of us has a story that demonstrates how New York is failing the faces of one of its most culturally vibrant, economically significant industries in the world.” This groundbreaking act, championed by the Model Alliance since its inception in 2022, aims to reshape labor conditions in the fashion industry. The Model Alliance, a key advocate for model rights across the U.S., has long called for these essential protections to ensure a fair and safe workplace.

Sara Ziff, the executive director of the Model Alliance, expressed her hope that Governor Kathy Hochul will take a stand for the fashion industry's workforce, a group that is predominantly female and often comprised of immigrants. “I really do hope that as the first female Democratic governor of New York, she will stand with our mostly female, often immigrant, workforce,” Ziff stated. The proposed bill is designed to address the significant “power imbalances” that exist between models and the agencies that represent them. Many models, often young women navigating their first jobs, lack insight into their earnings and are unaware of how commissions and expenses impact their paychecks.

For non-American models, this vulnerability deepens, as agencies often double as their visa sponsors and providers of housing, giving them an overwhelming degree of control over the models’ lives and livelihoods. Ziff also noted that resistance from modeling agencies and industry organizations to the bill underscores the critical need for change. “If they are worried that they can’t operate while having to show models their own contracts and be transparent about their finances, then, frankly, they have a broken business model,” she said. “If your business is predicated on exploiting young girls, then maybe you need to think about your business.”

Over 200 Models Demand Action from New York Governor Kathy Hochul

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