Model Factory Hong Kong model agency

1. Model Factory fashion can perpetuate the myth, but modeling is not always a glamorous job, even for successful girls like British-Korean model Mia Kang, one of the main names in the city and now the global face of Max Factor. Those who do it are moved to Tokyo, Paris or New York for shows and sessions, and are well treated. But to reach this stage requires not only good appearance but also great perseverance. "[If she moves], her agency is going ahead with her plane ticket, three months rent and three months of spending money and throwing it into a small apartment, sharing a berth with another model," says Kang. This is how most models start their careers abroad. Although the industry in Hong Kong is self-regulating, with no equivalent to the Model Alliance, which defends model rights in the United States, the city is generally a safe place to work. At the global level, however, the lack of financial transparency in the industry means that models are sometimes deceived by agencies and lessees who bear a large portion of their costs. See also: The Secret Life of a Mannequin: Creeping Exploitation, Rare Reward

2. M, a model of just over 20 who wishes to remain anonymous, admits that agencies in Greece have tried to deceive her, but "it can happen anywhere," she says. Another agency with whom he had contacts, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, sent "girls to men's parties," says the model, originally from Eastern Europe and settled in Hong Kong there has several years to work. . Having spent more than a decade in the industry, Mr. Kang did not have to deal with these agencies, but said that "they can be extremely common in other parts of the world". Even though Model Factory may not be involved in the industry's most sensitive practices, this does not mean that the models are easy: most understand that their bodies are trivialized and must respond to certain ideals. "Some agencies in Hong Kong measure their daughters every Monday and, if their measurements increase slightly, they are denied pocket money [500 to 1000 Hong Kong dollars a week]," says Kang. This leaves some people unable

3. to replenish their octopus cards or eat properly. "It sounds extreme, but it's written in contracts that if they change their measures, their agency has the right to act or even cancel their contract and send it home." Agencies in other cities impose even stricter rules; In some cases, staff travel to model apartments to set curfews and control what girls eat and how often they exercise. Even if a model signs up with an agency that actively protects the well-being of its models, controlling all jobs, stylists and photographers would be impossible. The model must be prepared to defend itself.

4. "Unfortunately," says Kang, "poorly-born models or the very young often do not read correctly or understand their contracts, let alone get the fact that they have the right to negotiate." Kang remembers a casting in Milan, Italy, in which her classmates were ordered to remove the top, and a photo shoot in Hong Kong where she was asked to undress completely to help achieve the "artistic vision" of the photographer. "I was even in a casting in a hotel room with two guys and a video camera, they asked me if [the models] could be changed," he says. "Girls need to know that they have the right to refuse and leave, go to your agency and inform them, if necessary, to inform the police."

5. Each "face" signed has a "parent agency" in his home country, to which he can turn when he needs it. But their usefulness varies enormously. "Sometimes a girl has to be strong enough to handle her own problems the best she can," says M, "because when models are in trouble, some agencies retract ... they do not want to have a bad reputation ". Iris Chan, a Model International explorer in Hong Kong, says she does not see the need for a Model Alliance in the city. "Everyone here is reasonable," she says. "These are just dumb models, partygoers and addicts whose agencies should protect themselves."

6. Chan admits, however, that things can be different on the continent, and a better strategy would be to educate models about their rights and how to defend them. "If someone over the age of 18 is traveling around the world and going to live and work in a new country, they have to take responsibility," says Kang. "Personally, I do not see why models should be treated differently from any other working-class citizen in any other industry." Kang, who has worked extensively in many fashion capitals around the world, says that there is a dangerous aspect to the rigor of Hong Kong's modeling: the

7. city's nightlife. "It's a lot worse here than anywhere else in the world," she says. While a Champagne lifestyle may seem to be part of the job, predatory, rich and powerful men looking for a circle of rotating models can always take young women on the road to exploitation and tacit ": generous traded for sweets and sex. "These naive models feel special: they are in a foreign country and they feel they have created a friend who has the resources to protect them and give them an incredible life outside their overcrowded apartment and their little berth. ". "I know of countless girls who have come to Hong Kong with new faces and are ready to work [alone] to leave without money, with an appetite for cocaine and probably two ETS."

8. The beauty of the models has a particular currency and a successful girl can use her position to start lucrative businesses or become a celebrity, she has paid thousands of dollars just to appear in a branded function. But as all the models that Post Magazine has said, girls are easily replaced. When we leave, another arrives. Model Factory: http://modelfactory.com.hk