Is modeling lucrative?

MANILA, Philippines - The word “modeling” normally conjures up images of ethereal, long-limbed amazons traipsing the globe on private jets and yachts, guzzling flutes of Cristal between runway shows and photo shoots. They are the world’s most beautiful, so their insulated world must only include the glamorous, the moneyed, the high-fliers, or crown of artistic achievement.

Yet is this preconception an accurate depiction of reality? Is modeling all it is made out to be? At the ripe age of 24, I consider myself something of a modeling veteran. I was plucked early at the age of 11 by a reputable agency in Los Angeles where I’d say my career peaked with a campaign for Tommy Hilfiger kids. California law states that under-aged talent fees must be deposited into a trust fund until the talent is of legal age, so I was able to happily pay my own way through college years later. It was my third year of university on a foreign exchange in Tokyo where I began modeling again. I have worked in various countries throughout the region, shuffling every few months from one market to the next, oftentimes living in very unglamorous conditions, sharing tiny apartments with five other girls with only a bunk bed to call my own. The truth is, all models must endure this for a chance to be “on top.” 

For top earners in the industry, for the Giseles, the Kates, the Miranda Kerrs, campaigns for big fashion brands like LV, Prada, etc. can pay anywhere up from six figures (that’s in dollars). Exclusive contracts such as those for Victoria’s Secret pay millions. Yet this is not an accurate sample of the industry. These girls can command such large paychecks because of their celebrity status. There are far more numbers of teenaged girls from developing countries struggling to get out of the red in foreign markets where they are there for the chance to earn in stronger currencies. Many times models just accrue debt to their agencies as flights, living accommodation, “pocket money” and visa fares are all advanced against their future earnings. Many don’t book jobs and this is usually for unexplainable and arbitrary reasons. Prestigious magazine editorials and covers pay literally nothing, or a max of US$250 for a day’s work. There is an over-supply of beautiful models clawing their way to be in Vogue, iD, V magazine and the like, all in hopes of gaining or maintaining exposure. London fashion week is known to pay as little as US$500 per show. A profitable booking would be a major fashion or beauty campaign, which range anywhere from US$10,000 to $100,000. However, these jobs are usually spaced irregularly in a model’s career (unless you’re a top model) and job uncertainty is high with no legal benefits. 

These days, models look to Asia for fast cash. A market with higher budgets for less prestigious commercial work, guaranteed salaried contracts in Korea or Japan can be alluring. I’ve known many models who slaved in Guangzhou, China for three months doing monotonous catalogue work day in and day out but eventually paid off expenses and left with a pretty penny. For the Filipino reader, let’s examine markets closer to home to deduce whether modeling is indeed lucrative. 

The answer is complicated and relies on more variables than supposed. Big-paying jobs tend to be for television commercials. Print campaigns are gainful too, especially beauty, if used regionally. Commercial modeling is where the money is, and that entails the less glamorous but more profitable jobs lending your mug and figure for products like toothpaste, washing machines, smartphones, cameras, etc. What ensures a model will book these jobs over another equally beautiful girl? Obviously, commercial models are of a different caste than those in high fashion. In Asia, Eurasian beauties with an easy-on-the-eyes “prettiness” do well and are seen as the images of cosmetics, hair care and local fragrance lines. With so many “pretty” girls slugging it from casting to casting in hopes of landing the same job,  bookers and agents attempt to pinpoint what  traits are responsible for the success of a model outside the normal parameters of measurements and height (actually in commercial modeling, height isn’t even that much of a requirement.) Though they may grapple with verbalizing that a successful model must have that special “something,” essentially, that “something” is luck. It depends on the time of year one goes to that market. It depends on the current competition. It depends on clients’ preferences at the moment. It depends on the economy and where a company’s budgets are being spent. 

Models are normally flown out to an international hub — in Asia it might be Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Bangkok, Jakarta, or Kuala Luampor — for a two- or three-month contract period in which their flight, living accommodations, food and transportation allowance is all advanced by the agency. Other costs are normally tacked on as well, such as the fee for the taxi to pick up the model from the airport, the cost of printing a model’s composite cards, even the cost of the map of the city.  From the payment received from a job, the agency will then deduct its commission (normally 20-30 percent), an additional 10 percent will go to a model’s mother agent or scout, and after taxes will normally receive anywhere from 30-60 percent of the payment which will then be used to pay off debt to the agency. Only once the debt is cleared will the earnings go into the model’s pocket (but the agency will always take its commission first.) 

Though daunting on paper, there is still some intoxicatingly addictive quality to modeling that keeps models constantly in hopes of booking that next big job and slaving away in the industry. When you land that big campaign, the pay is big for relatively little work. If you work well in a market like Bangkok where expenses are relatively low, the outcomes of making a decent amount of cash in as little as three months are quite good. If you’re lucky enough to land a regional shampoo, lotion, or deodorant campaign, the payoff is anywhere from 300,000 baht up (roughly US$10,000).  Some girls score a few of these big campaigns in a season and can clear up to US$30,000. Models are encouraged to leave a market after a few months in fear of over-saturation and thereby return yearly to their “safety market.” The other months are spent shunted from country to country where they either make more cash or nothing at all. Some return to a market that was lucrative a year ago only to find it dry the following time around. Nothing is guaranteed unless you fit a certain prototype of model suited for Korea or Japan in which they may offer a contract, standard for a newish model being US$15,000, to work for an initial two-month period. Of course there are clauses to the contract: a model must still book work and has the chance of being sent home if she doesn’t land a certain amount of jobs in her first week or so. However, these markets prefer Caucasian fashion models from the US or Europe, and if Asian, they must already have some kind of celebrity status. Eurasian models do very well in Japan but speaking the language is a prerequisite as well as being (or lying that you are) half-Japanese.

What is the attraction to modeling then, if there is no job security or legal benefits? There are obvious financial rewards to commercial, catalogue, “fit” modeling (where a model is paid to be a human mannequin for fashion brands designing clothes) and showroom work. The perks are the traveling that young models experience and the breadth of amazingly diverse people models meet. Models normally arrive in a city with a built-in network of friends (via their roommates in a model flat) as well as nocturnal attractions (clubs in which models drink and eat for free nightly). The fast money and constant hunt for the next big paycheck is addictive. The aspiration to be the next Tyra Banks or Heidi Klum is something that keeps the dream alive for many, despite the odds. Let’s look at the balance sheet of a model who did fairly well working in Hong Kong, a market with a nice mix of fashion and commercial work. You decide whether you believe modeling is indeed all it’s cracked up to be: