The Fake Life Of Expensive New York City

The New York Post reports:

In the world of fashion modeling, the pressures are much the same. “It’s a superficial industry where there’s always a significant gap between image and reality,” says model and activist Sara Ziff, executive director of The Model Alliance. “The vast majority of models do not command vast sums and are working in debt to their agencies.”

And the more high profile the job, the less a model is paid — if she’s paid at all. “It’s a little-known fact that most designers don’t pay models to walk,” Ziff says. “They’ll pay in trade: a tank top, or samples from their last collection. Of course, you can’t pay your rent with a tank top.”

To make ends meet, models commonly agree to shoots they’d otherwise never do, Ziff says, or submit to “inappropriate offers.” And then there are the club promoters who sidle up to the most naive, offering them free food and drinks while using their presence to boost a nightspot’s profile.

“It’s a little sad,” Ziff says. “Many of these girls have no idea that this underground economy exists. They think these promoters are their friends — and it’s a business where relationships and who you’re friends with, or at least who you pretend to be friends with, is very important.”

The great moments of Blue America.