Behind the Glamour: Legal Precarity in the Modeling Industry

By Talia Bock '26

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Runway models are often viewed as members of society’s upper echelon, strutting down dimly lit catwalks, posing in couture for the next magazine cover, smiling for thousands of fans and camera flashes. Notable figures like Shalom Harlow, Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, or Gisele Bündchen come to mind, evoking images of luxury, freedom, and fame. Yet, beneath the surface, the modeling industry is nowhere near as glamorous as it may first appear. 

Over the years, the modeling industry has faced no shortage of controversy, from cultural grievances such as promoting pro-anorexia culture with the rise of “heroin chic” aesthetics to serious crimes like the alarming number of sexual harassment allegations. (1) While these concerns are far from resolved, organizations such as the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and the Modeling Alliance have worked together to emphasize the importance and treatment of models’ health and wellness. (2) Still, despite these cultural shifts, legal safeguards remain largely absent. (3)

At the core of the argument for enhanced legal protections is the classification of models not as employees but as independent contractors. Independent contractors are excluded from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and, as a result, are not legally entitled to key protections. The FLSA is the primary piece of legislation establishing rights for employees in the United States. The FLSA “establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor standards affecting most full-time and part-time workers.” (4) Classification as an employee under the FLSA unlocks a broader range of legal protections, including eligibility for unemployment insurance, the right to engage in collective bargaining, and safeguards for job security.Proponents of the independent contractor structure argue that it provides models with greater autonomy, granting them the ability to set their own hours, choose clients, and exercise control over their work. (5) In theory, it allows individuals to operate as entrepreneurs, managing their own business. For top models with high levels of demand and a high bargaining power, this flexibility is likely to be very empowering. 

Yet, this is not the story for most models. The glamour associated with elite names like the previously named Model of the Year, Bella Hadid, represents the exception, not the norm. (6) Most models experience a much more precarious reality, likely aligned more closely with the story of Sheay Reynolds, a 15-year-old model who appeared in Vogue and walked in shows for brands like Louis Vuitton, Fendi, and Saint Laurent. (7) Despite her high-profile appearances, she was encouraged to engage in disordered eating behaviors, including swallowing cotton balls, and earned just $130 after six weeks of fashion shows across New York, Paris, and London. (8) Sadly, Reynold’s story is not an anomaly but a common experience that speaks to the systematic exploitation endured within the fashion industry. (9)

Numerous models have attempted to challenge their classification through lawsuits, arguing that exclusive agency contracts, often required, strip them of the very independence that defines contractor status. (10) Often, agency contracts prevent models from finding work elsewhere while allowing agencies to maintain disproportionate control over payment timelines, job opportunities, and contract termination. (11) Whereas employees cannot be dismissed without fair cause, independent contractors are not entitled to such explanation. 

Furthermore, independent contractors must shoulder the entire burden of self-employment taxes, including Social Security and Medicare, and are fully responsible for tracking and reporting income. Whereas employees receive crucial support from employers, who cover half of these obligations, independent contractors must face this significant financial and administrative load alone. (12)

When distinguishing between an employee and an independent contractor, there is no single, definitive test. Rather, the entire relationship must be examined, as well as the “control the individual is placed under or obligated to perform.” (13) While rigid criteria do not exist, courts and agencies generally apply common law principles, which assess control across three main categories: behavioral, financial, and relational. Behavioral control refers to what tasks are performed and how they are carried out. Financials examine how the worker is paid, whether expenses are reimbursed, and who provides tools or supplies. The relational element considers the length and permanency of the working arrangement and whether or not the work is a key aspect of the business. 

Agencies are often more concerned with the financial advantages of classifying models as independent contractors than with ensuring fair labor conditions, despite enforcing strict contractual controls. Many modeling agencies are structured as management companies, allowing them to charge higher commissions under the pretense of offering full-scale career guidance rather than simply booking jobs. Yet, this framework frequently results in financial manipulation. While traditional agencies may take a 10% cut, management companies may legally take up to 20% of a model’s earnings. (14) Additionally, the classification of a management company allows agencies “to wield power of attorney over their models so that they can legally accept payments on behalf of the models.” (15) This gives agencies the power to deduct expenses from models’ paychecks without justification, often leaving models underpaid or even in debt. (16)

The truth is, modeling contracts vary widely across agencies, and there is often a troubling lack of transparency between the agency and the model. Models may be paid in clothing instead of money, have payments delayed indefinitely, or find their contracts terminated without clear justification. While the U.S. does have anti-discrimination protections under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, modeling agencies frequently exploit loopholes to avoid accountability. These loopholes include invoking clauses like the “Bona Fide Occupational Qualification” (BFOQ) or First Amendment loopholes, allowing designers and agencies to justify discriminatory practices under the guise of creative protection. (17)

Without the classification of employees, models are also denied the right to unionize. Unions empower workers to advocate for higher wages, benefits, and improved work conditions, offering collective power that individual workers often lack. (18) In fact, Tamara Cincik, Founder of Think Tank Fashion Roundtable, notes that “the fashion industry, unlike other areas of media, is notable in its absence of unionization.” (19) In the 1948 Taft-Hartley amendment to the NLRA 1, Congress excluded independent contractors from the definition of employee. “Thus, independent contractors generally cannot organize under the NLRA, and typically there can be no NLRA unions of independent contractors.” (20)

In modeling, the absence of unionization is particularly alarming when it comes to sexual harassment, which many models find to be intertwined with job security. (21) While employees can seek legal or organizational avenues of redress, these options are generally unavailable to independent contractors, leaving models with only informal avenues like confronting the harasser or relying on internal coping strategies. (22)

In one study conducted by Cameron Russell, a model and social justice activist, commonly used confrontations by models as a means to combat sexual harassment included verbal opposition, direct verbal opposition, and physical opposition. All of these responses risk retaliation from powerful figures in the industry. Speaking up may result in the model being black listed or dropped by agencies. (23) Although the modeling alliance has worked to establish a collective form of advocacy, models still lack legal and organizational forms of recourse. Without employee status, they remain especially vulnerable to exploitation and retaliation. 

Recently, New York State legislation, in correspondence with the Modelling Alliance, has worked to close the legal loopholes that allow agencies to partake in predatory behavior. (24) The NY Fashion Workers Act, put into effect on June 19, 2025, strives to create a greater level of transparency within the industry. (25) This act enables models to seek redress through legal means. Models have largely remained vulnerable to agencies’ undisclosed conflicts of interest, financial deceptions, or negligent representations. Yet, the New York Fashion Workers Act specifically addresses such abuses, “equipping models with clearly defined legal rights” as agencies now have a fiduciary duty to represent the best interests of their talent. (26) In appropriate circumstances, the act even offers an opportunity for models to seek punitive damages. (27)

Now, models may not only pursue recovery for lost wages but also compensation for things like emotional distress or reputational harm. The NY Fashion Workers Act fights to protect the health and safety of models by establishing a zero-tolerance policy for abuse and the prevention of retaliation. The bill also requires agencies to discontinue “bad practice,” such as “resenting power of attorney as a necessary condition for entering into a contract, taking interest on models’ payments or collecting signing fees.” (28) Additionally, the newly enacted legislation works to protect models in the digital landscape, addressing rising concerns involving AI, deep fakes and digital manipulation, ultimately granting models greater control over the use of their digital images. In many ways, this act sets forth to offer the protections that a union typically grants. It provides the power to change the fashion landscape entirely, offering enhanced avenues of recourse for models who are not only victims of financial harassment but also sexual harassment. Although the NY Fashion Workers Act is a great step in the right direction, it does not apply federally. Other major Fashion Districts within the United States, like Los Angeles or Miami, do not offer the same protections.

Paris, which is long regarded as the fashion capital of the world, operates under a distinct legal framework offering models a hybrid employment status. Under France’s Labour Code (Code du Travail), models are classified as both independent contractors and employees. Models are considered employees for the completion of any physical labour, such as walking the runway or participating in a photoshoot, and must be paid monthly on a salary basis, even if the client fails to pay. However, models are treated as independent contractors for commercial use of their image, such as advertising campaigns, after a photoshoot has already been completed. Models pocket around 33% of their gross income, with the rest going towards agency deductions and tax. Notably, those taxes contribute to unemployment benefits, health insurance, and retirement funds. (29) Models in France are also granted the right to unionize. (30)

The current landscape in the U.S. fashion industry still leaves significant room for exploitation. While the New York Fashion Workers Act marks a significant step towards safeguarding workers, it by no means offers a comprehensive solution. Moving forward, federal expansion of this act or adaptation of international policy, like that of France’s hybrid model, may offer broader protections across the country. 

Until such legislation is amended, models must be proactive in managing their careers. The instability of independent contractor status leaves models vulnerable to inconsistent pay, job insecurity, and a lack of legal protection. Truthfully, success in the world of fashion is often influenced not just by talent but by geography, market trends, and a model’s individual aesthetic; what thrives in New York might not succeed in Milan or Paris. In such a volatile environment, individualized counselling is essential. With the support of an informed attorney, models can negotiate contracts that acknowledge their contractor status while building in safeguards for fair compensation, usage rights, and protection from exploitation. (31) Empowering models through legal advocacy and policy reform is not only possible but highly necessary. 

Endnotes

1. Christine Ji, “Heroin Chic and the Price of Beauty,” The Georgetown Voice, 4 Feb. 2023, georgetownvoice.com/2023/02/04/heroin-chic-and-the-price-of-beauty/.

2. Fashion Law Journal, “Employment Law and the Rights of Fashion Models - Fashion Law Journal,” Fashion Law Journal, October 2024. https://fashionlawjournal.com/employment-law-and-the-rights-of-fashion-models/.

3. Ibid.

4. U.S. Department of Labor, “Worker Rights | U.S. Department of Labor.” Www.dol.gov. 2025. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/workers.

5. “What to Consider in the Employment of Fashion Models,” The Fashion Law. April 14, 2025. https://www.thefashionlaw.com/resource-center/models-employees-or-independent-contractors/.

6. Ibid. 

7. Ibid. 

8. Ibid.

9. Ibid. 

10. Ibid; Jennifer Jacques, “Jacques & Associates,” Jacques & Associates, November 10, 2015. https://jacqueslawfirm.com/blog/2015/employment-law/modeling.

11. IRS, “Independent Contractor Self Employed or Employee,” Irs.gov, 2019. https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/independent-contractor-self-employed-or-employee.

12. Ibid. 

13. Ibid. 

14. Ibid. 

15. Ibid. 

16. Ibid. 

17. AFL-CIO, “What Unions Do | AFL-CIO,” Aflcio.org, 2019. https://aflcio.org/what-unions-do.

18. Madeleine Schulz, “Are Models the next to Unionise?” Vogue Business, August 10, 2023. https://www.voguebusiness.com/fashion/are-models-the-next-to-unionise.

19. Mark. Schneider n.d., “Unions for Independent Contractors,” https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/aba_journal_of_labor_employment_law/v37/number-3/jlel-vol37-no3-6.pdf.

20. Bruno, Greg. “For Female Fashion Models, Job Security and Sexual Harassment Are Often Intertwined.” Rutgers.edu. 2024. https://www.rutgers.edu/news/female-fashion-models-job-security-and-sexual-harassment-are-often-intertwined.

21. “Research: How Independent Contractors Respond to Sexual Harassment in the Modeling Industry | Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning & Public Policy.” 2021. Rutgers.edu. 2021. https://dev.bloustein.rutgers.edu/research-how-independent-contractors-respond-to-sexual-harassment-in-the-modeling-industry/.

22. Crowley, Jocelyn Elise. 2021. “How Independent Contractors Respond to Sexual Harassment: The Case of the Modeling Industry.” Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, June. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10672-021-09374-2.

23. Ibid. 

24. “Supermodel, Werk! New York’s Fashion Workers Act Takes Effect | BakerHostetler.” 2025. BakerHostetler. June 23, 2025. https://www.bakerlaw.com/insights/supermodel-werk-new-yorks-fashion-workers-act-takes-effect/.

25. Huitema, Savannah. 2025. “The Fashion Workers Act Is Slated to Redefine the Industry.” The Fashion Law. April 22, 2025. https://www.thefashionlaw.com/taking-effect-in-june-the-fashion-workers-act-is-slated-to-redefine-the-industry/.

26. Ibid

27. Ibid. 

28. “How to Become a Fashion Model in Paris | METRO Models.” 2023. Metromodels.com. 2023. https://www.metromodels.com/itssiassiassiassiassiassiassiassia/news/8725-how-to-become-a-fashion-model-in-paris/.

29. Ibid. 

30. “New York Modeling Lawyer | Legal Contracts for Models & Agencies.” 2025. Rodriques Law, PLLC. May 20, 2025. https://rodriqueslaw.com/new-york-city-talent-lawyer/modeling/.