How Much Can an AVERAGE Model Expect to Get Paid? (PLEASE READ POST #1 BEFORE POSTING)

[Ochi Chernye]

I think girls who are happy with the "clothes for exchange" payment are girls who are financially stable right from the start and generally treat modeling more like a hobby. There are girls in this business who do come from privileged backgrounds, so for them modeling is not as important as for the girls who actually pay rent from it.

 

[misscheriedior]

^ Yeah, exactly
If I was a model I wouldn't be happy if I was being paid trade for the shows I do. It's like a waitress working at a restaurant and getting paid in food. Clothes =/= money and modeling is a job just like any other so I don't see why they can't be paid like other jobs.

 

[AlbertNoir]

"Eva Riccobono e Maria Carla Boscono, le due italiane che ce l'hanno fatta e sono diventate due volti famosi delle moda internazionale, incassano 15 mila euro a sfilata. Tre volte tanto rispetto alla spagnola Marina Perez e alla russa Valentina Zeliaeva, scoperte, la prima, da Calvin Klein e, la seconda, da Ralph Lauren, con ingaggi da 5 mila euro a defilè."

The article explains how Eva & Mariacarla, two of the few Italian girls that have gained international fame in the fashion industry, get paid for a single fashion show (in the main fashion capitals: NY, London, Milan & Paris) in that period: 15.000 euros = $20.000..much more than Marina Perez (discovered by Calvin Klein) and Valentina (discovered by Ralph Lauren) both with 5.000 euros = $6.000 per show during the same period..in another article of the same magazine Eva Riccobono explained that her cachet for the shows in other cities like Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin etc could be even more than $20.000 (from $30.000 to $60/70.000) because the designers of that cities are less "famous" and they get international models to increase their visibilty in the industry.

Source: repubblica.it (September 2004)

 

[LeRouquin]

That's an incredibly harsh dichotomy. Get paid in clothes, or get paid literally thousands and thousands of euros.

 

[missEVIEE]

I used do modeling back in europe and i have to say i didnt get paid..
all i got was a small presents from designers and thats all:/
if it happened that i did got paid my agency took everything from me so after i got ''paid from them'' i bearly had enough for my food while i was there...
if any of the girls think that they can make their living by becoming a model they are wrong...
Many of my friends modeled in milan for Roberto C. and didnt get paid much..

 

[BetteT]

Moderator's Note:

Thread rules added ... see post #1.

This thread is intended to be a discussion to provide information about what a young model may expect to get paid in various situations ... runway, editorial, ad campaigns, catalogs, etc. And you may discuss how models get paid and how their agencies usually handle all of that.

However, this thread is not intended to post specific fees that a particular models has been paid, particularily the top ones, because it is not representative of "what models get paid, in general" ... the topic of this thread. Posts that are merely quoting this sort of information may be deleted for being off topic.

 

[model_mom]

When you first start modeling in NY and the agency thinks you are going to be the flavor of the season....you are sent to only the best clients. If you are chosen for their show....then it is suppose to be an honor and a giant go see. The payment for you is to be seen by only the best magazine editors and clients. The agency tells you that you will receive clothes for trade. The problem with this is that very rarely do they ever said up said 'appointment'to view said clothes. The icing on the cake and the big payoff happens if you are 'chosen' to front the designer's campaign....then everybody's happy....the agency recieves their big payoff for their investment in you and you receive a hefty paycheck....minus whatever the agency decides is their cut.

 

[Miss-V]

models dont make that much however it depends on what you want out of it. if you want cash then do commericial. if you want to be in harpers, W, Vogue etc dont expect to make money but if you do...it'll be a extra bonus.

 

[LANZO_358]

Hey guys have you seen this? It's a post on SOMW about the Next situation but it gives a breakdown of the earnings that are outstanding.

This week Jezebel ran an article about three models who are suing Next management for stealing their money. Anna Jagodzinska, Karmen Pedaru, and Anna Cywinska, claim their agency owes them a collective $750,000, and though they left Next back in April, the company has refused to pay the models the money they are owed. Each of them are seeking these back payments plus $1 million in damages. While we empathize with anyone who's been ripped off, we were truly fascinated by Jagodzinska's April 23 account statement, which shows exactly how much she was supposed to earn for each of her modeling jobs. For any of you who have ever wondered just how much a model makes for striking a pose, prepare to be amazed:

• French Vogue shoot - $125
• Vogue shoot - $250
• J.Crew campaign - $15,000
• H&M campaign - $60,000
• Laird & Partners productions - $35,000 (they produce ads for luxury companies like Donna Karan and Bottega Veneta)
• Grey Paris productions - $172,500 (they also produce ad campaigns)

So while appearing in Vogue may boost a model's status or seem really fancy, the big bucks clearly come from mainstream ad campaigns. And while this statement shows Jagodzinska raking in $231,372, Next took $56,675 of her pay as commission. What's leftover for standing around looking prettysure isn't bad, but it's chump change when compared with the 10 highest earning models, according to Forbes. Below, the most gorgeous ladies with the fattest paychecks this year:

More here: http://www.somw.org/magazine/read/how-much-money-a-model-really-makes-by-joanna-douglas_96.html

 

[cologne_rocks]

Well, they're talking about Anna Jagodzinska there. She's been on the cover of Vogue US, there is just a handful of models who can expect to be paid that well.

 

[anen87]

^^^ I posted a link 6 days ago about Next management stole money from the models but the moderator here erased it. And today it was featured on page of Yahoo news

 

[BetteT]

Yes ... we deleted it because it was mostly about the lawsuit and the agency "stealing" which is off topic here. There is already a thread about that going in Rumour Has It, where we discuss breaking news, etc.


However, this particular article can stay because it is more releavant to this topic than the other, even though they are both about the lawsuit. This article clearly shows an example of what a typical model would get paid for certain types of jobs and talks about what a typical model can expect in pay. It illustrates the point we are trying to make here: That editorial doen'st pay much, and ad campaigns pay very well. And the poster used restraint and pretty much just posted the information that was releavant to this particular topic.

 

[anen87]

I thought Anna Jagodzinska was a Top model? hmmm Vogue shoots, H&M campaigns is not something I associate with "typical model"? maybe you mean typical top model
So is this thread about Top model earnings or not?

 

[BetteT]

No ... it is not about "famous models".

It's about payscales for any model who is making a living, but is not necessarily famous. About what any model who "makes it" can expect to be paid if she's lucky enough to be booked for some of these gigs. It's about the gigs ... not the models.


The article illustrates what a model might be paid in any of those circumstances ... H&M campaigns pay very, very well while Vogue editorials do not. It doesn't matter who the model is ... it's just a fact of life. Of course, they would never give a huge campaign to just any model ... but should any model manage to book H&M ... they would probably get paid pretty close to that.

 

[nomorerack]

Oh wow, what happened to ' i wouldn't get out of bed for less than $10,000' so says Linda? if they are paid almost nothing then why the heck are they coming in and out everyday in modeling agencies and auditioning? or do they need to be discovered in a mall or something in able to get better pay than those who auditioned?

Ain't a fair trade then if you ask me, i mean these girls would ***Edited*** just to measure up to the designers standards so as to land themselves a walk in the ramp for crying out loud...hmmm this is new to me actually. Come to think of it, designers make millions and make empires and they owe it to either the models or actresses who strutt their stuff. without those models who would wear their outfits if hollywood actors and actresses are too darn expensive? would they wear their own creation just to model it to the whole world? would you be caught dead seeing these designers changing their outfit every hour just so they can complete a whole collection? lolz that's a nice scene...just my 2 cents

 

[BetteT]

Hi nomorerack and welcome!

I removed part of your comment because it was a reference to weight, which is not allowed per our Community Rules (see the link at the bottom of every page).

To respond to your question: Most aspiring models are showing up at open calls because they seek fame and think that modeling is glamorus. I don't think that they really think about the pay structure or if they even take the time to find out.

But they are misinformed if they think that it's easy or glamorous. Or if they think that that it's given that they will make some serious money just because a good agency signs them . The real truth is that it's ruthlessly competitive, they work under brutal conditions, it's probably the shortest lived career in fashion (few years or less for most) , and most models who get signed never are able to make a living at it ... many cannot even cover their marketing expenses.

No .... for the average model, it's not fair. But as long as young, beautiful girls are standing in that very long line to do this, then the designers and magazines won't have to pay. Only when all models refuse to work for clothes or for less than minimum wage ... all of them, including the aspiring ones ... will something change in this industry.

 

[Fontenrose]

In the articles about agencies suing each other there are some bits on how the recession has affected modeling income.

Since the recession began in 2007, so many department stores have closed that catalog work has become increasingly scarce.
The commercial-looking "bread-and-butter" girls who do catalogs could, pre-crash, clear up to $300,000 a year. Now that same model is lucky to make about $70,000 a year -- and she's competing with underemployed A-list girls.
"JCPenney and Neiman Marcus in Dallas -- they'd fly in models from New York, and they'd get a half-day's pay just for getting on the plane!" Sugerman said. "Now they're booking local talent. And if they do book a New York girl, she has to pay for her own flight and find a place to stay -- and these girls are doing it!"
​

"Young working models are pretty much broke all the time. It used to be that the agency and the girls were running the industry, but now it's the clients. They say, 'We'll pay this,' and the agency will go along, because the girl needs the work. ​

Now, girls who used to get $5,000 a day are working for $1,500 a day -- and they're taking money away from the B-girls. It's very hard for a model to think, 'Oh, my rate and my value is going down.' "
​

"I left my agency for another one," said the working model. She wasn't sued, but said her agency tried to blackball her fashion-photographer boyfriend. This model said that she wanted to work for a bigger agency, that many of her bookers had left and she was getting lost among the new girls. But the main reason: "My checks weren't coming on time." This model spoke from Germany, where she was doing a shoot for Elle, and said she is still broke.
...
"Pretty much everyone I know is in debt."
​

"The business model has always been in favor of the agency," Porizkova said. "It's like the publishing business or the record industry: The company makes sure their ***es are covered, and you only make money if you make them a lot of money. Trust me -- in the 20 years I spent in the business, most of the girls I knew fell by the roadside. They all lasted a year or two, then ran into debt." ​

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/when_the_modeling_business_gets_pRZHMEnLtwvHKj7tlJpexM
​

​

 

[fritmayo]

Quote:
"The business model has always been in favor of the agency," Porizkova said. "It's like the publishing business or the record industry: The company makes sure their ***es are covered, and you only make money if you make them a lot of money. Trust me -- in the 20 years I spent in the business, most of the girls I knew fell by the roadside. They all lasted a year or two, then ran into debt."


Read more: How much can a model expect to get paid, on average? Read Post #1 for Thread Rules. - Page 34 - the Fashion Spot http://forums.thefashionspot.com/f9...st-1-thread-rules-59674-34.html#ixzz180jrqJn1




well this is correct, but except to live in candyland, everyone can understand why it is like that. And the record industry is as said exactly the same, and exactly for the same reasons...

A record company or a model agency...they take money risk on talent, and it is them who gonna advance all the pennies needed to launch the talent, in accepting the risk that the money invested can be completely lost, and in many case...it is lost.

so to cover all the lost, they must obviously takes money where it is possible to take.
A part of the system is that all the expenses, are lightly overcharged to the models, so there is a category of models, who for themselves dont earn anything, but who just make enough for the agency to earn on them.

The exemple of record company is very good and is maybe more easy to put numbers on.
when a CD is launch, in accounting, maybe the break even when the record company will start to earn will let's say be at 50.000 CD.
BUT...at 50.000 CD, the artist will still not earn, caus like a model he has been overcharged of some expenses, so maybe the break even he will start to earn will be 75.000 cd.

it is like that for models, and like that in all business which invest on talent, and it is normal it is like that, if not the business in itself could not just be profitable at all.

 

[benjikan]

As I said elsewhere. Shooting editorial is never about the money but the prestige and the jobs it can garner. Being in Bazaar, Vogue, Elle etc. Will get you the exposure to land those huge ad campaigns. It is what the Art Buyers at Ad Agencies and Marketing Departments of major brands are exposed to that prompt them to say "Hey did you see so and so in French ELLE last week, she looks awesome, who is she with, lets call in her book."

 

[bothsidesnow]

I was watching a new trailer for Sara Ziff's documentary Picture Me and it mentioned she got a Marc Jacobs campaign, then shows a pay check for $80,000 (I assume it's $US) and it was in 2002.

screencap:

watch here: http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2010/09/sara_ziff_tktk.html

(BUMP!)
I've just watched the film. The cheque has nothing to do with the "...you've got Marc Jacobs collection!" comment. The comment appears about half an hour after the scene where she shows the cheque and in fact it refers to Sara being cast for the MJ show, not the campaign.