CHINESE MODELS BEGIN TO DOMINATE NATION’S CATWALKS
Foreign faces no longer have the edge in the domestic modeling scene
In the eight years he has spent in China as a professional model, Alexandr Pozhar has witnessed major changes in the domestic industry.
When he first arrived in Shanghai, eight to 10 foreign models usually attended each casting session, but now there are scores of them, according to the 30-year-old Ukrainian Russian dual national.
“If it’s a large-scale casting, maybe 300 models will join the first round of competition. About 20 will then be chosen to go through to the next round, and at the end of the day, after several more rounds, the client will choose the winner,” said Pozhar, who has a decade of experience on the catwalk and fashion shoots.
“Most candidates who stand in line for the client just hear ‘OK, thanks, bye-bye’ within just a few minutes of joining the line.”
In addition to capricious clients, Pozhar and his foreign peers face another challenge. They are losing opportunities as a result of many clients’ growing preferences for local faces, a result of a growing appreciation of fashion among Chinese customers and the rising international status of domestic models, allied to their distinctive looks which can draw target audiences.
“Foreign models no longer enjoy an absolute advantage over their Chinese counterparts. The line between foreign and domestic models is not so obvious anymore,” said Zheng Yi, president of Esee Model Management in Shanghai, one of the largest modeling agencies in China.
“Once living expenses and travel costs are included, there are almost no differences between the incomes the two groups can earn,” he said, noting that most young models can make between 10,000 yuan and 20,000 yuan ($1,500-3,000) a month.
However, the new reality hasn’t stopped foreign models, including those with vast experience, from coming to China in the hope of finding work in the domestic market, which offers a greater range of opportunities than any other Asian country.
Pozhar said that when he first arrived in China, most agencies had no more than 10 foreign models, but in recent years, the number has tripled.
“A decade ago, winning a modeling contract in another country was like ‘Wow! Out of the whole town I’m the one!’ However, now it seems that everyone who is young and tall flies overseas to work as a model,” he said.
Even though he has worked for several international brands, including Hermes and Christian Dior, Pozhar has often had to compete with younger peers, who are mostly about age 18 and in their best years in terms of looks and body shape.
In some cases, he has endured demanding and unreasonable clients.
“On countless occasions, clients put far too much makeup on my face, which I didn’t like at all and spent two days removing. But I cannot lose my temper. If I reject an opportunity, they will still have 100 people to choose from,” he said.
There have also been times when he has been hired to model 10 pieces of clothing, but once on set he has been asked to model five more items, without receiving extra pay.
“I have a well-honed figure, so sometimes I am asked to go shirtless, for which I should be paid extra. In most cases I remain silent because I don’t want to lose clients or cause trouble,” he said.
Models are paid by the hour, so from the time they arrive at a shoot the client and their makeup team urge them to change clothes quickly — usually in about 30 seconds — and rarely communicate about anything else.
Changes
When she started modeling in Shanghai four years ago, Wang Mengjia, from Henan province, was often selected for shoots, only to be told later that the client had changed their mind and would use a foreign model. Now, the situation has been reversed.
For many years, Chinese brands believed that they would only be regarded as stylish if they used foreigners in their promotions, but now the number of models from overseas is falling across all campaigns, from commercials for high-end local brands to shows for online stores on Taobao, one of China’s most popular retail websites, she said.
According to Zheng, from Esee Model Management in Shanghai, the change is the result of cultural differences. “Some online stores want potential customers to know that their clothes are suitable for everybody, so they choose Chinese models, who are generally sweet, gentle and petite. Female models from overseas are at least 175 cm tall, which can make Chinese customers feel divorced from the product,” he said.
Wang said the rising competitiveness of Chinese models can be partly attributed to the fact that they are usually better trained than their foreign counterparts.
“Most Chinese models graduate from modeling schools or join the industry after winning a beauty contest. However, most foreign models enter the profession after being spotted by talent scouts in the street,” said the 23-year-old, who came second in the 2015 Miss Universal China contest.
Opportunities
Opportunities may be dwindling for foreign models, but most agree that China offers more chances to work than any other Asian country.
Frenchman Adrien Jacques, who has modeled in a number of European and Asian cities in the past five years, has spent much of the past two years in Shanghai.
“I take more than 10 jobs every three months, and I participate in as many castings as possible every day to win more opportunities,” the 22-year-old Parisian said. Last month, he worked on a shoot for a wellknown brand of Japanese pomade in Shanghai, a job that offered him more than just money.
“Big brands have outstanding teams of makeup artists, stylists and photographers. I can learn a lot from them during the shooting process. Moreover, working for big brands is a good advertisement for me and will help me win better opportunities in the future,” he said, adding that he has urged many of his peers in Paris to work in China.
Financial rewards
Since arriving in Shanghai in 2015, Ukrainian Juliana Romanova has spent most of her time in the city, returning home just once a year.
“I have worked in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, but nowhere brought me money as quickly as the Chinese mainland,” the 25-year-old said.
“Even in Tokyo the market was unstable. Sometimes I stayed there for two months but failed to land even a single shoot or show,” she said.
Romanova was spotted by a talent scout in the street when she was a university student in Ukraine. She chose to major in teaching English because there were no tuition fees for the course, which reduced the financial burden on her parents, who are not well off.
However, several years ago, she abandoned her plan to become a schoolteacher. “What I earn every month as a model in Shanghai is equivalent to almost a year’s income in my home country,” she said.
According to Cui Lina, a veteran model agent at the China Bentley Culture Development Co in Beijing, more than 50 percent of foreign models in China come from Russia and Ukraine.
“The pay is attractive to them, and their physical advantage is absolute — girls from those countries are blonde and have long legs,” she said.
However, for many models, working in Shanghai is not just about money, but also visibility.
“If a model works on a campaign for a famous brand in France, they will be seen by about 60 million people. However, in China, the number rises to more than 1 billion. The difference is obvious,” Romanova said.
What I earn every month as a model in Shanghai is equivalent to almost a year’s income in my home country.” Juliana Romanova, a Ukrainian model in Shanghai.