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Modeling Schools
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to this Commentary!
Nzinga Moore
Intro:
Top international designers just released their fall 2001 lines, and many of
the models taking these new looks down the runway were young teenagers. The
youth-obsessed fashion industry was badly shaken last week in Milan, when a
15 year old aspiring Slovenian model was allegedly drugged and raped in a night
club after a fashion show. But young people from around the world continue to
fantasize about the glamorous life of a cover girl or boy. Youth Radio's Nzinga
Moore enrolled in a modeling school, where she quickly confronted the reality
of what it takes, and how much it costs, to try to make it in high fashion.
TRACK 1: When I was sixteen, with dreams of being on the cover of Seventeen
Magazine, I enrolled in a modeling school. But instead of finding myself with
a great job in high fashion, I found myself out thousands of dollars. My bad
experience made me wonder if all modeling schools are a big scam. I had to investigate
further.
FX 1 ROLL UNDER MUSIC- continue until class
Ru' Paul: "You better work, work it girl, do your thing, on the runway.
Work, COVER GIRL! Work it girl…"
TRACK 2: To check out mainstream modeling schools, I headed to San Francisco's
John Robert Powers. A series of basic modeling classes here costs over a thousand
dollars. The curriculum is pretty standard: makeup, hair, photography, fashion,
and, of course…runway classes.
FX 2: (Track 13) CLIP OF FAST COMMANDS (SPED UP— "Shoulders straight,
neck extended, arms falling to the side just behind you. Got that.")
TRACK 3: So what can an aspiring teen model get out of these high priced classes?
It's hard to tell. The John Robert Powers website lists famous graduates such
as, Marilyn Monroe, Jackie Kennedy, and Farrah Fawcett. None of the students
I met had made it big yet, but they were still idealistic about their prospects.
Take Katrina Wong, a fifteen-year-old junior from Alameda High School. Wearing
high-heels and a see-through shirt with a push-up bra, Katrina Wong thinks the
school can market her unconventional beauty.
AX 2: (15: 0.39 ) Katrina Wong: Everyone is just themselves. Beauty is not only
from the outside, it's from the inside too, and everyone's great. They're all
wonderful.
TRACK 4: Wonderful on the inside is one thing, but how you look on the outside
is what the modeling industry is all about. John Robert Powers' Director Donna
Dorsich explains there are standards, and they can be brutal.
AX 3: Director Donna Dorsich: (Track 5 after 0.23 before 2.20) I tell my students,
if after six months they don't get any work…they need to sit back and reassess
and see, you know maybe their headshots are not good you know maybe they do
need to have that nose job or they need to have their teeth fixed or whatever….
TRACK 5: Braces cost about 3 thousand dollars, and a nose job another 4 thousand.
That's on top of the money invested in modeling classes. So how can you make
any cash if you're spending so much on improving your look? Students I met at
John Robert Powers were making just a couple hundred dollars here and there
by modeling for phone company and pharmaceutical ads. So who are the teens making
the big bucks? A scout for Next Model Management, Corey Singer had some stories
to tell…
AX 5: (9: 6.41) Singer: Let's see, there's a girl from Vegas that I scouted
and she is doing amazing and she's just about to do even more amazing. One of
her first jobs was for $17,000 for the day.
TRACK 6: Although that successful girl was affiliated with a modeling school,
the talent scout says often it doesn't take much to get discovered-maybe just
hanging out at the mall…
AX 6: (Disc 2- 15: 7.06) Singer: I think they can just take a roll of snap-shots
with a disposable camera, nothing fancy… just send it to the agency attention
New Faces, with their phone number…and their cost is just a roll of film
and a stamp…18:16 Do you need to go to school to become a model? Absolutely
not.
TRACK 7: Singer says some schools are just expensive summer camps, although
she admits they can build confidence. It makes you wonder - why pay hundreds
per class when you can be discovered walking down the street and make 17 thousand
your first shoot? I didn't pay those big bucks to find confidence I already
have. Like most students who enroll in modeling schools, I wanted a career in
high fashion. Still, I haven't totally given up on my hopes for a future in
modeling. Dante Ramirez, a teacher at John Robert Powers modeling school, thought
I was perfect for his class.
AX 9: (Disk1 11: 5.20) Dante Ramirez: You should be a model how tall are you?
Nzinga: 5'8"
AX 10: Dante Ramirez: That is a pretty good size, height, and you have the body.
Because you are slim. You have nice skin color and nice features. I'm not bluffing
you look good. You should be in my class.
Track 8: Thanks but no thanks. I think I'll try the disposable camera first.
I'm Nzinga Moore, for Marketplace.
FX3: Right said Fred- I'm too sexy
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