Catwalk star’s sex warning
Catwalk star Olympia Campbell hits out at the blacklisting of girls who spurn advances
A MODEL has told how her agency warns girls about photographers who might “make a move” on them.
Olympia Campbell says several fashion photographers threaten to blacklist models who refuse to date them. Speaking ahead of London Fashion Week, Miss Campbell, who has modelled for Chanel and Louis Vuitton, said: “There are photographers – I’ve been warned by my agency – renowned for trying to make a move on some of the girls.”
The 22-year-old, who works for the Viva London agency, added that if a model refused to go for a drink with a photographer, “you’re probably not going to get booked again”.
Miss Campbell’s sister Edie, also a model, wrote an open letter last year urging the industry to tackle sex abuse.
ONE of the brightest talents on the British catwalk has accused a number of fashion photographers of threatening to blacklist models who refuse to date them.
Olympia Campbell says she has been warned by her own model agency, Viva London, about a number of photographers in the industry who are “renowned for trying to make a move on some of the girls”.
And she says this kind of sexual harassment was putting some models’ careers at risk.
Miss Campbell, whose sister Edie – also a model – wrote an open letter last year urging the industry to tackle the problem of sexual abuse, suggests some photographers are taking advantage of their postition.
In an interview in today’s Telegraph magazine, the 22-year-old says: “There are definitely photographers – and I’ve been warned by my agency – that are renowned for trying to make a move on some of the girls.”
She says that while she had not been warned that a specific photographer was “dangerous”, she worries about the impact their approaches might have on young models.
“I don’t know who they’ve made a move on, so I don’t know if those were appropriate moves to make,” she says. “It might be that this person’s very flirty, he’ll meet you for a casting and
‘I can’t imagine what it’s like for people who do really want the next job’
book you for a job and maybe ask you out for a drink.”
But Miss Campbell, who has modelled for Balmain, Chanel and Louis Vuitton, added: “If you don’t go, you’re probably not going to get booked on the job again. That doesn’t matter so much for me, because I’m doing other things, but I can’t imagine what it’s like for people who do really want the next job.”
Her fears come at a time when the fashion industry is still reeling over revelations about the predatory and abusive behaviour of veteran photographer Terry Richardson, who was banned by Vogue magazine last October after disturbing allegations resurfaced that he had engaged in sexually inappropriate behaviour with young models during photo shoots.
Mr Richardson later admitted to The Telegraph that his controversial working practices involve “interacting” with models in a sexually explicit way.
Last month there were claims that photographer Mario Testino, famous around the world for his pictures of Diana, Princess of Wales, sexually exploited at least 13 male models since the Nineties. Bruce Weber, another fashion photographer, was accused of similar claims stretching back to 1982.
The claims, denied by Testino and Weber, led to both photographers being dropped by Condé Naste, the publisher of Vogue, Vanity Fair and GQ.
Following the outcry over Richardson’s working methods, Edie Campbell, 27, wrote a heartfelt letter to the industry over the issue.
She stated: “We operate within a culture that is too accepting of abuse, in all of its manifestations.”