Fashion models launched a rights group seeking to improve standards in their industry, just days before they hit the catwalk at New York Fashion Week.
The non-profit organisation is seeking workplace standards including backstage privacy to stop unauthorised nude photos and a programme to provide confidential advice for dealing with sexual harassment. The Model Alliance was founded by Sara Ziff, 29, who has worked as a model since she was 14. “Most models start their adult careers as minors and they labor in an unregulated business knowing that they are highly replaceable,” Ziff said in a statement. Designer Diane von Furstenberg is reportedly working with the Model Alliance during Fashion Week to implement a rule that clears the backstage area at the fashion shows of photographers and non-essential staff while models are changing clothes. New York Fashion Week kicks off in New York on Thursday and runs through Feb. 15, followed by events in London, Paris and Milan.
