UNDERPAID AND UNDERAGE
Tackling exploitation in the modelling industry
South Korean JiWon, 19, is hopeful her career will mirror that of her favourite supermodel, Candice Swanepoel. Growing up in England and Singapore, JiWon made the decision to become a model after seeing South African-born Candice on TV. She felt “an adrenaline rush”. “That was the moment I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up,” JiWon said.
A modelling career gives young women and men all over the world an opportunity to make money and become famous, in many cases even before they are legal adults.
Earlier this year, after posting her portfolio online and hounding modelling agencies in London, Paris and Milan with emails, JiWon was recruited by an agency in London. She got her first runway job during Milan Bridal Week before coming to Thailand a month ago on a contract with a local modelling agency.
She will leave in two months, and doesn’t know where she will be travelling to next. “It could be Paris or London. I don’t know. It’s usually a last-minute thing. Hopefully, I’ll get to walk for Victoria’s Secret one day.”
YOU’VE GOT TO WORK IT
JiWon maintains an air of coolness about her. Black leather ankle boots, black denim and a grey tee top. She doesn’t wear make-up and with her wavy long black hair she seems to announce that she wakes up like this.
It’s a professional dishevelled look favoured by the truly beautiful and sported by models seen around Bangkok’s nightclubs in Thong Lor or Sukhumvit.
But while other models might genuinely come from a tough background, for JiWon the look stretches credibility as she is from a privileged middle-class family.
Coming from as far as Brazil, Belarus, Russia, Poland, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, all of these young women are under 25, or at least they say they are.
Many of them are much younger — their skin can betray their age even through heavy makeup that isn’t applied or cleansed as well as their more experienced colleagues.
What most share in common is a belief that a stint modelling in Bangkok will help catapult them to the more glamorous and better-paying runways of Europe and the US. But taking that shortcut can mean exploitation, in an industry that recognises it has a problem.
Last week, exploitation in the Thai modelling industry became the latest focus of the Labour Ministry’s efforts to curb human trafficking. Of particular concern were the use of underage models, the opportunities for prostitution, and foreign models who do not hold work permits and are not subject to tax.
The Department of Employment stipulates models must hold a non-immigrant visa, not tourist or transit visas, before being able to apply for a work permit.
Under Thai laws and regulations, foreigners working illegally without permits can be jailed for up to five years and face fines of between 2,000 and 100,000 baht. Those who perform work outside the description in their work permits may face a fine not exceeding 20,000 baht. Employers who hire foreigners without work permits can be fined 10,000-100,000 baht per employee.
Authorities add that models who fail to comply with the laws, such as those without work permits, can find themselves being deported and police may file a criminal case. Those with criminal records would be barred from re-entering Thailand in the future.
The Thai Modelling Industry and Agencies Association, which represents about 10 agencies, is running a campaign called “Stop using illegal and underage foreign models to combat human trafficking in Thailand”. The association’s founder, Edward Kitti, said the campaign is meant to protect the models’ interest and to standardise the industry as a whole. The young and ambitious face exploitation in Thailand on their race to the runway, but the industry is looking to clean up its image
“Models who come on a tourist visa find themselves unable to turn to anyone when they are taken advantage of by employers, but if they have work permit, they can file a complaint to the ministry.”
TAXING TIMES
Mr Kitti said Thailand is attracting more models looking to build up their portfolios, but lax regulations and enforcement mean the country has failed to garner revenue from the growing industry. “Modelling in Thailand was without regulation for so long. Employers always take advantage of models. Besides, actors, performers and entertainers who perform or work in Thailand all pay taxes, so why won’t models?”
Foreign models are subject to an initial 5% income tax deduction, and the Revenue Department has said it is the employer’s responsibility to handle this payment. Employers are also required to file income tax returns on behalf of foreign models that they hire at the end of each year. Mr Kitti said he is trying to negotiate with the relevant government agencies to fasttrack work permits and is pushing for special tax privileges.
Ira, 25, has been modelling since she turned 18 and said she arrived in Thailand 18 months ago. The Ukrainian is being managed by a local modelling agency. After working in several Chinese cities, she chose to follow her boyfriend to Thailand because living here is cheaper than Ukraine, and there are greater opportunities to earn money. A contract with an agency means Ira is not paid directly by the clients, usually designers and event organisers, but receives it after an agency deducts tax and other fees. “The fee is split 50% for models and 10% for the mother agency and 5% for the scout. The rest goes to the agency.”
JiWon’s booker, Kee, said she agrees with the tax initiative, although each model’s income depends on job opportunities and luck. “If a foreign model who just flies in is lucky, he or she could earn 150,000 baht in only two months. Several of them could earn 50,000 baht a month, apart from the cash advance from the agency we provide weekly of 2,000-2,500 baht.”
Ira said in order to walk a runway, models are required to work up to eight hours before the show begins. “We do the make-up, fitting and rehearsal before the actual show so runway work can take the whole day and a model can be paid between 5,000-8,000 baht.”
GETTING THERE
It is common knowledge the fees Ira and others are charged are not levied on professional or internationally recognised faces in the industry. Bangkok, despite the government’s push to become a fashion city, is basically a career transit point, a place where beginners build their portfolios before moving on to cities where a more mature industry is established like Singapore, Hong Kong or Shanghai. Catwalks in London, Paris, Milan and New York are reserved only for the top of the modelling crop.
A step-by-step approach is required, as shown by JiWon, who prefers to be proactive in her career advancement. Many other models realise the advantage of starting early. Youthful looks are valued in ads and on runways. Moreover, if models start sooner, they can work longer.
Thai supermodel Mali Coates, 24, has been in the industry for 10 years. “I am Thai and live in Thailand so when I was young, I never went to work without my mother.”
Foreign models cannot always be chaperoned, but Mali said the youngest model she ever saw was 13. “We didn’t know her, but we heard she was that young. We think she was brought into Thailand to work. I don’t think she came by herself.”
A New York Times article in September focused on the use of underage models by major brands, including Cindy Crawford’s 13-year-old
Runway work can take the whole day and a model can be paid between 5,000 and 8,000 baht
IRA Models who come on a tourist visa find themselves unable to turn to anyone when they are taken advantage of
EDWARD KITTI
daughter Kaia Gerber and Johnny Depp’s daughter Lily-Rose, who is 16.
In 2013, the New York State Legislature passed a law stating that all models under 18 must be treated as child performers, with all the related regulations, from limited work hours to trust accounts, supervision and check-ups. Brands must have a permit from the state Department of Labour, as must the models.
According to the Thai Modelling Industry and Agencies Association, those who hire models aged under 18 would be in breach of the 1998 Labour Protection Act and the 1989 Immigration Act, and therefore liable to face fines or imprisonment.
TRUTH OF THE MATTER
Ms Kee, the booking agent, said the age at which foreign models could obtain a work permit was unclear. She recalled it was stipulated models must be 19 to obtain one, before changing to 18 recently. “A model’s work permit can be renewed every three months, as well as our contract.”
However, Evrika Modelling employee Amy said that even if an 18-year-old model is legitimate, complete with a work permit and an agency contract, they can still be subjected to abuse. She said this was particularly so at Model’s Night events, parties held at Bangkok clubs where models can enter for free by showing their comp card even if they are underage. Those aged under 20 are barred from entering nightclubs in Thailand, but the ID-sized comp cards models carry everywhere only feature their name, photo and sizes, not their age.
“Police have just begun to get strict on Model’s Night in the middle of this year,” Amy said. “They found a lot of models various clubs in Thong Lor and usually the models who have tourist visas say they are tourists. Nobody believes them but there was no evidence against them.
“I want the authorities to get tough on models entering nightclubs too because as they are between 18-20 years of age, they are not always in control of themselves. There are times when they return very late at night and they have to cancel the casting the next day. They don’t really listen to the agency’s advice because they’re still kids.”
Amy expects the campaign to push for a real curb on drugs and prostitution, a reality for many young models.
“If I say models never do drugs, I’d be lying,” she said. “Here, we only manage the female models because we think the male ones are harder to control.
“We prohibit them from bringing other people into the place that we provide for them to stay, but we cannot be with them all the time. In Bangkok, men with money like to date models. As young models flock to the same place on Model’s Night, so do these men. We don’t bar them from dating, but they cannot move out from our apartment.”
ALL IN A DAY’S WORK
Amy said 90% of Evrika’s models are from Russia and Ukraine, with the rest from Belarus or Poland. “We maintain good relationships with three big mother agencies in Russia. We source models from Russia because it is the only country where we can get all the looks we want, whether it’s a full-scale European, Middle Eastern-ish or even Asian looks. It saves time.”
Ms Kee said local clients prefer models from eastern Europe because “their faces are not too bony and they don’t have freckles”. Besides, they are cheap. “Models from other European countries do not accept a runway fee of 7,000 or a shooting fee of 4,000 baht. They prefer to work for major fashion brands, not doing catalogues or lookbooks like models in Thailand are doing.”
That is what JiWon was doing last week. She changed 60 outfits on Monday for a catalogue shoot and she is already booked to do an ad for a local bank. Every day, JiWon goes to a casting at a fashion house to present a portfolio and to try on their clothes and walk in front of them. She doesn’t do it alone — the agency’s van will carry five or six other young models to meet with clients daily before bringing them back to the apartment they share.
The nature of the jobs means there is a high turnover as clients cannot use the same faces for very long. Amy said maintaining good relations with the Russian agencies also means her agency can present clients with fresh faces more often, which is good for the business.
“Our agency only imports models, we don’t export,” Ms Kee said. “We import through scouts as we have contacts with them from all over the world. We will take a look at the photos they send and select the models we like.”
HAVE THEY GOT THE LOOK?
As agencies search for new faces to bring to Thailand, they make sure their clients join the selection process. Fashion magazine editor Phol, not his real name, gets emails from local modelling agencies on a daily basis with the new faces who have just arrived or will be arriving soon.
“Foreign models like to come here because the cost of living is cheap,” Phol said.
“Photographers and production houses are also cheap, but talented. Thailand is a hub of production houses as assignments come from all over Asia.
“Apart from the runway shows, models can do presentation shows as brands launch new collections by walking for the press. There are so many job opportunities.”
Mr Kitti is rallying support for his campaign among fashion magazines and retailers, urging them to hire only models with work permits and who are over 18. He stresses the point that clients are subject to fines based on the number of models they hire for their jobs, a regulation that stretches to editors.
Phol heard the news of the campaign but doubts whether the modelling industry should be identified with human trafficking or treated as such. “I am not sure the industry is all about importing or exporting people. Many do have an aspiration to work as a model, though there can be an economic factor involved in them making that decision.”
Still, the business is innately prone to exploitation, a fact Phol admits. “Thai models could split their fees with the agency at a rate of 70:30, but foreign models can negotiate for a lower split which is mostly 50:50.
“Mostly, we, as clients, trust the modelling agencies that their models are legit.
“To be honest, when we select models, their looks are our priority, whether they have commercial or aesthetic potential. We never really focus on whether they possess any documents or not.”
Hopefully, I’ll get to walk for Victoria’s Secret one day
JIWON