Who should not be near this industry?

When I was 13 a talent scout hooked me on the street. He asked me if I wanted to become a model. It was not the first time. I had already by then had uncomfortable suggestions several times of making nude pictures. I was well aware of the dangers with unknown men asking you to try your luck. This guy was from a serious agency though. I knew it well from posters from my mom’s ads office.

For a couple of years I went on castings - always very shy, very hopeful and always a couple of kilos too heavy. I was the very curvy type. Those kilos really got stuck on my mind and I tried to live on carrots. In my teenage unhappiness I was 100% sure of that two kilos less would mean all the happiness in life. Everyone would see me in the magazines, I would be someone, and my luck would be made for the rest of my life. I had no such happy future imaginations in relation to my ongoing dancing career or in any of the school subjects no matter how good grades I had.



There were two things I always hated about the model environment. The first thing was to be handled as a dog, and the other thing was that no one in the business seemed really sharp. They were all nonsense. And you know what? After reading Bon today I will say it out loud. Most of those model girls are far better people and far more intelligent than most other people in the fashion business. The girls are just the way you are when you are young, naïve and yet not educated, but the people they work for should have come further.

Getting more and more bewildered the further I read this Bon article, I will do a lot of quoting here to comment the fashion business.

FERN I don’t think you can define trends anymore. You’ve got access to everything all the time. --- The magazines create a story about some few garments, and then make six images of that, completely out of their context.

KELLY I don’t think you can say that there are trends. I think there are artists. I believe that fashion is art. I believe that music is art.

Fern Mallis, the founder of New York Fashion Week and Kelly Cutrone, founder of PR- and branding company People’s Revolution representing for example Jeremy Scott, should know what trends are, and be able to see them and analyze them as a part of their professions. Are they nuts or are they just trying to be hard to understand?

But then the saviour appears. Lynn Yaeger, the good old fox, gives some hope to the fashion world when assuming that fashion is more a comment on the society than it is art, and that it is a summation of the existing. Thank you Lynn for representing those who know this. You look ingenious, and come through the cleverest. There is a long and important history and future of fashion, and the trends we see around us is a mirror of the society of today. There are of course clothes - no, rather couture - that also is art, but when it becomes fashion it is always an expression of identity and the times. You can define trends and fashion in different ways but you can't deny they exist.

And of course everyone wants to be unique in these times of mass industry and globalization, but to most people there are very clear themes cross over the catwalks each seasons. You soon see repeating patterns of symbols, patterns or colors that connote to one and the same source. It is those themes that then appears in the magazines as short stories that the reader can attach to something she knows of from before, or something she can learn more about, identify herself with, or not. (Img fr refinary21)

On the topic why there are still catwalks and fashion weeks KELLY responses that the ambience is something complete different from watching a video. When something fantastic appears, or when people roll their eyes on something hideous – it’s a fantastic experience.

Let’s say it straight out. It’s an internal game of a small community where it’s about being in or out, as well as fooling everyone else in the world that this is of matter. Otherwise no one would think that the expensive stuff were worth it if there was no hype around it.



And then finally the entire conversation goes mad when GEORODON, club host, dj and catwalk music director, really doesn’t think that Terry Richardson did anything wrong when using his position to sexually abuse girls under age.

If you don’t know how to say no you’re and idiot and should go home.

LYNN It’s hard to say no when you want to be in the business and they catch you when you are very young. It is to blame the victim.

But no - GEORDON persists that you know what you are into if you’re to make a shoot with Terry Richardson.

LYNN still tries to say that they are not old enough to know, but also KELLY feels that a 16 year old girl should understand when the suggestions are not right.

Then again Lynn is the savior of my heart saying

Am I the only one thinking that it should be illegal with models under age? I don’t understand why I need to see someone under 18 on the catwalk.

But no - KELLY doesn’t agree again

I don’t care if they are 14 and look good wearing a make-up.

I just end this upsetting reading by singing with Lynn in chorus

They are still teenagers. I don’t think they should be near this industry.

This talk proves why.

Lynn Yaeger – I love you.