Fascinating feature article in the Wall Street Journal today (available to subscribers here) regarding the effects that the global economy and fashion trends are having on fashion models. WSJ uses American model Bianca Gomez to illustrate that, as brutal as the competition among models is in the U.S., it's even worse overseas. Turns out, the restrictions the U.S. has on H-1B visas (which aren't much) has nevertheless helped to stymie the influx of Eastern European models (among others) that have effectively pushed U.S. models off the runways in Europe and elsewhere. Plus everywhere, the new cachet is celebrity, which, by definition, is much rarer than beauty and therefore far more valuable. Pretty faces are everywhere, but not so the faces that make people buy beautiful clothes. So, in a weak manner, our fashion model market is - protected! It's not the 90's anymore! Farewell Naomi! Hello Natalia! Good luck Bianca!:
Bianca Gomez, an 18-year-old model from Los Angeles, is rail-thin at 5'11" with almond shaped green eyes, honey-colored hair and translucent skin. She attracted interest from famous New York design houses well before she'd arrived in town to audition for their runway shows.
But in the brutal new calculus of high-fashion modeling, the odds of becoming a big-time mannequin have grown even slimmer. Competing with a deluge of fresh faces from Russia, Eastern Europe and Brazil, Ms. Gomez has faced many rejections. Expenses -- such as foreign travel costs -- have siphoned thousands of dollars from her fees.
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