The 'Skinny' Models Debate

Having been reading the debate on 'Skinny' models at the excellent Supermodels.nl forum , it started us thinking about this whole topic. We started by putting together some links to information at a K models.com BMI page .


Our initials observations are:

1. As obesity increases, the BMI of the population increases. What is considered normally thin today, will be considered abnormally thin tomorrow.

2. Different ethnic groups have different BMI ranges. A cut off BMI (less than 18) will affect some ethnic groups more than others.

3. Before making a fixed cut off point, organisers might wish to consider if they are opening themselves up to claims of racial discrimination.

4. Most progressive societies aim not to stigmatise individuals. The aim normally is to treat individuals as individuals, and if needed refer the individual for health advice. Most industries will use a confidential Occupational Health service. Organisers might wish to consider if a fixed cut off point is likely to lead to stigmatisation of an individual and an infringement of their Human Rights.

We welcome discussion on these or other points.

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K models.com visits Kiev / Kyiv 2005


In July 2005, K models visited Kiev in order to learn more about the state of the modeling industry in Ukraine. Kiev is an ancient City which has attracted much international attention in the last 9 months. There certainly is a vibrancy about the City and it does appear that it is receiving more international visitors.

During Summer weekends the main downtown area of Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) and Khreschatyk turn into a long social event with Kievites taking advantage of the of the warm weather to drink beer and promenade under the long line of Chestnut trees. The colour of the Season is definitely Orange and it is clear that, given the opportunity to party, the youth are a lively bunch who enjoy a heady mix of beer and loud rock/punk/rap music. Now their enthusiasm is out in the open, it may be rather hard to put the genie back in the bottle.

What is apparent after a few minutes of walking along Khreschatyk is the height of many of the younger generation of Ukrainian women. It is common to walk past girls of 1.80+, something that is unusual in London or Paris. From memory, even in Moscow I did not see so many tall young women. The city is certainly experiencing a economic upturn with property & office prices increasing at alarming rates. Presumably this is a factor of a limited supply of western style offices and apartments, in the same way that Moscow prices rose sharply in the 1990s. In central Kiev, the streets and shops feel just like any western city.

THE MODELING MARKET
During the week long visit to Kiev, K models met up with all the agencies who responded to requests for a meeting. What did we learn ? Like many other countries in central & eastern Europe, the home modeling market in Ukraine is fairly limited. Advertising, followed by editorials are the main areas of local work, fashion shows being fairly limited in number. Most agencies therefore focus on either the international 'new faces' market or on placing models with agencies in Asia.
The most frequently mentioned countries for placing models overseas were: Korea, Japan, Thailand, Lebanon, China, Malaysia, Turkey & Greece. Getting working visas for Asian countries is generally easier than for Europe. Visas for Japan however are getting harder to obtain. Models are generally placed with an Asian model agency for 2 to 3 months. These placements are increasing in number and are an important source of income for Ukrainian agencies.
A common concern expressed by most of the Kiev agencies is agencies in Asia that do not pay the full agreed fee. This is becoming a regular complaint to K models and we are afraid that one Country, namely Korea has developed a poor reputation. Someone in the Korean market needs to get a grip with this situation before the 'bad apples' ruin it for the good agencies in Korea. it is clear that agencies in central Europe would greatly benefit from greater collaboration in order to share knowledge about unreliable agencies and clients around the world.
For Europe, the target markets are of course Milan and Paris. However Italian visas are also getting harder to obtain.

SCOUTING & DIRECT CLIENTS
There are two very different approaches to internal scouting within Ukraine. Most agencies describe working with a network of local agencies across Ukraine. One agency however was focusing on holding a scouting competition in all the cities and major towns of Ukraine. For a country of 50 Million people, this is a major task.
In terms of external scouts from western Europe, the usual names from the main agencies are frequent visitors to Kiev. K models suspects that these agencies are also becoming more frequent visitors to regional cities in Ukraine as the competition for quality new faces hots up.
A feature of Ukrainian Scouting is the requests from some Schools and Parents for 'donations' in order for them to agree to release a new face model from their care.
Working with direct clients often proves difficult for Kiev agencies. A major frustration with western direct clients is the length of time after a casting that a model is requested for a booking. Sometimes this will occur 3-4 months after a casting, by which time the model may have been placed in the Asian market.

VISAS
The biggest frustration for Kiev agencies is of course, Visas. Much of the time is spent working with Embassies and Consulates. Furthermore the entry of Poland, a big competitor, into the European Union has made it easy for Polish models to travel across Europe.

AGENCIES
K models is grateful to all the agencies who agreed to meet. Thanks also to the Koltso agency for taking K models on a enjoyable river tour of Kiev. We met agencies in the following order:
Koltso model agency - operating for 8 years, the agency is based in Kiev with a branch office in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. Models are from all over Ukraine - English speaking Director.
Prestige model agency - an established agency which also features models from across Ukraine - English speaking manager.
Linea 12 agency - a firmly established agency with considerable experience of placing models in the International market - highly experienced English speaking Director.
Podium model agency - set up in 2000, the agency works with a developing network of agencies across Ukraine - English speaking manager.
Metropolitan model agency - the agency is majoring on the Miss Ukraine beauty competition.
Intermodels agency - created in 2004 & operating from brand new offices (see photos). Organises the Golden Crown of Ukraine competition in 30 cities across the Country - English speaking Director.

Unfortunately K models did not get to meet the Karin model agency. The agency is very well known in Kiev, particularly as it advertises directly on the cover of the local English language 'expat' weekly magazine.




THE FUTURE
Into the European Union ? Talking to Ukrainians it is clear that opinions are sharply divided as to best future direction for their country. In terms of the modeling business, Ukraine will continue to provide a high number of quality new faces each year. Hopefully obtaining visas will become easier and it will be possible for all the best models to meet their true potential.

The next visit for K models ? On passing through Heathrow airport, I was surprised to see a very tall & beautiful girl getting into a rather old Volkswagen. The car had a Polish registration number ! Now that it's so easy for Poles to visit London, perhaps it is time for K models to visit Poland.

K models.com