Changing the Face of Modeling

How the industry has shifted and how you should too in this post-pandemic world

 

Welcome back to the glossy, global world of fashion and entertainment. Hugs are back, models are back and the fight-back-and-win indomitable American spirit is stronger than ever. This re-entry has been long awaited.

It is now time to accentuate the positive, while at the same time being aware of the twists and turns of the Covid virus and its variants. Good things have come from the pandemic and lockdown. Patience is high on the list. Families have bonded. Creative minds have shared ideas to produce alternative ways to bring back the industry. Potential models and actors have had time to explore and understand the problems, pitfalls and rewards of the business.

Fashion Week is reappearing around the world. There are hundreds of these glamorous events, but the Big Four take place twice a year in Paris, Milan, London and New York. Fashion Week originated in Paris, but in a different form than today. At that time, clients and designers hired beautiful women to model couture fashions in salons, at racetracks and other chic venues. This evolved into Paris Fashion Week or Semaine de la Mode de Paris. There were the annual Spring-Summer and Autumn-Winter shows, with dates set by the French Fashion Federation. They gave the designers and fashion houses an opportunity to show their collections to the world via runway shows packed with celebrities and the media. Today there are Prêt à Porter (Ready to Wear), Haute Couture (High Fashion) and Men’s Fashion Shows held annually in February and September which show trends for the upcoming season.

The United Kingdom has spent a year or more under severe lockdown and consequently Fashion Week as we know it has not been on the agenda. However, Royal Ascot, a glamourous five-day horseracing (and champagne) event which takes place in June every year, provided a brilliant re-entry into the fashion world. Ladies Day, which is the high point, was as fabulous as ever despite wretched weather. Exquisite hats, beautiful dresses and skyscraper shoes (along with a barrage of umbrellas) enhanced its reputation as the most fashionable event on the British social calendar. Daily appearances by members of the royal family, models and celebrities added to the excitement.

Here at home, I talked with industry experts about how they survived a year of lockdown and the future of the industry. Diane Dick who owns the Diane Dick International Modeling and Talent Agency in Amarillo, Texas, has had many successes and faced many challenges throughout over thirty years in the business. She was very optimistic about the industry’s future, “People are dressing up again and that is good for business and models. Work is picking up overseas, right now I am arranging to send three models to Greece. Clients are calling because they want to get back to business and you can’t advertise products, especially beauty products, without gorgeous girls.”

 

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