"Your child is a marriage": How is the children's model business in Russia
In 2006, the film was released Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton's "Little Miss Happiness." Its plot is simple: a seemingly decent American family is sent to a children's beauty contest, so that the seven-year-old Olive can take part in it. The road was not easy, but a broken car, a thousand kilometers, and even the death of my grandfather did not stop "Miss Happiness", which nevertheless came on the scene. The end of the film - the competition itself - looks like a caricature, but this is why it perfectly illustrates the recklessness of parents who want their children to have a successful modeling career.
Twelve years after the film's release, children's beauty contests still exist, even though they are trying to fight them. And the number of modeling agencies specializing in children today is growing exponentially. We decided to figure out how this business works, who earns money from parents and how children-models feel.
TEXT: Anton Danilov, author of the Telegram channel "Promeminizm"
Schools
If you type in "children's model agency" in Google, the search engine will give you about 113 thousand results, but most of them are the so-called model schools. There are no educational standards for them, so each one is taught its own sets of subjects. Among the most popular are acting skills, speech techniques, fashion shows and the ability to pose. The price range is quite large: usually, schools ask for from a modest 15 thousand for two months of study to hundreds of thousands of rubles.
“A model school for children is a necessary element in our industry,” says Alina Shugayipova, director of the Ultrakids children's model agency. “You will not go to a dentist who does not know how to treat a tooth, or you will not read a book of a writer who cannot write. Children in This industry needs to have model qualities. They can be prepared from the age of four. Our school lasts six months, but its program changes every year. We accept children when they already know how to perceive a teacher and can be in a group. We test them in our classes and see what a particular child is ready for and what needs to be given. If we see the potential, we recommend doing it hard. By the end of the training, we understand who is capable of what. We show our clients as a casting agency, that is, we send those that are already in the database, or are looking for new ones. "
Agencies
Children's modeling agencies often form part of agencies for adults, but recently the number of those who specialize in working with children has been growing. Among the most famous is Yana Rudkovskaya’s model agency Top Mini Stars. It represents the interests of the children of Russian pop stars, such as Philip Kirkorov - Alla-Victoria and Martin, the daughter of Israeli athlete Alex Averbukh Anastasia, the daughter of Anna Brostrem Alina and, of course, the son of Rudkovskaya Alexander Alexander. Thanks to the links of its founder, the agency receives the largest orders: of the latter, a fashion show at the Barvikha Luxury Village and the show of the first children's collection of Galina Yudashkina (Rudkovskaya did not answer editorial questions).
Children's agencies are often divided by the type of clients with which they cooperate. "There are various children's modeling agencies: some, for example, select children only for cinema and advertising," continues Shugaypova. There are those who only teach. There are agencies that act as production. " “We have a school, but we don’t take children there,” says Victoria Laufer, general director of the Modus Vivendis model agency. “It’s difficult: there are children. However, we receive quite a lot of requests for advertisements with their participation. We have a small base and in this case we show it to the client. "
Customers
In the world, child models are now quite in demand, because all children's clothing brands and many others use children in their advertising. “The National Chamber of Fashion of Italy made several special children's shows part of the Milan Fashion Week,” says Yelena Fidelina, Director of Communications at the National Chamber of Fashion in Russia. “We even negotiated cooperation. All great designers and brands make children's collections and are interested in But in the developed markets - Italian, French - these businesses are divided quite toughly. Large billion-dollar brands do not need to save money by collecting all their collections on the same podium. Russia in this sense is only It is growing, because the whole clothing market in terms of sales volume is comparable with a market capitalization of Dior ".
“Most often, shooting is offered: just recently we shot a winter collection of clothes for one boutique,” says blogger and mother of three-year-old Lisa Anna Dmitrieva. “They often offer paired shots, because we are alike with her. It looks very cool and tender.”
Scammers
Of course, not every agency works honestly and transparently: there are enough swindlers in this area. Often, such scouts and managers start asking for money from their parents under various pretexts already at the stage of concluding an agreement. There are often situations when parents do not have the full amount for a “model school”, and then managers offer a solution - to open a loan in an allegedly “friendly” bank, whose representative was just nearby. Then the agency offers to pay for photo shoots for the portfolio. The final amount may include not only the cost of the shooting itself, but also the cost of the outfit, which is allegedly sewed according to individual measures for each model. These details, of course, are not prescribed in contracts.
“In some agencies, parental fees for filming children are a permanent basis for cooperation,” says Laufer. “Especially a lot of scam artists in so-called schools. If from the first moment you are told that education lasts a year, this is money pulling. And, of course, you need to evaluate promises. For example, if parents bring a teenage daughter with a height of 165 centimeters, and the agency says that in a year she will become a Victoria's Secret star, then this is certainly not true. Previously, graduates of such model schools came to us, and their parents asked: What are you not well but to pay "Of course, it is not necessary, if we feel that we will be able to provide work for the model, we take it to the Agency?".
“The problem of our business is in the absence of the need to obtain a license,” says Shugaypova. “There are no rules in it, which is why everybody comes to this business. Every year dozens of agencies open that raise parents for money. Such agencies introduce people to misleading, promising unthinkable prospects. Parents are being led because they often cannot check the veracity of their words. Although in fact everything can be found on the Internet, including bookkeeping. I do not know how many such agencies, but stories about them are constantly But. Such one-day projects are trying to make money from two ends: they take money from their parents, promising to shoot children, and from customers who order the shooting. Some customers now also try to make money on it. I saw ads where one fashion brand was selling their own shows, which served under the sauce of participation in fashion week. "
To tell children that they have no model future is very cruel to them. Yes, and parents can also cause injury
It is fashion weeks - the golden time for scammers. Kidswear can only be shown on children, and this is a great opportunity to sell participation in shows. “We at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia are tracking such announcements and harshly suppressing them,” Fidelina continues. “This item is specified separately in the contract of the participating brand. We have a list of children's brands that are closed for this week for this reason. There are cases when a brand sells pirate participation in our fashion week and actually participates in another event. We also respond to attempts to sell accreditations and free invitation cards that happen every season for the past fifteen years. закуп Procurement involving the police brought the scammers to administrative responsibility. The process is complicated by the fact that the event takes place twice a year, and the legal process can take a lot of months. Sometimes it is impossible to stop the activity of fraudsters before the start of the next season. "
“Once we also encountered scams,” Anna Dmitrieva says. “An unknown woman presented herself as a model agent from China and offered to enter into some kind of contract right now with a promise to find a job later. Naturally, I did not sign anything. Then it turned out that she’s she was a swindler, collecting data from parents of children, so that later these bases could be sold to different customers. "
Not all parents who want their child's modeling career are willing to waste money. In instagram there is a page @union_moms_kidsmodels, the creators of which call themselves "the union of mothers of children-models". They collect all the cases of deception encountered. The first publication dates back to September 14, and in two months the number of subscribers has grown to 28 thousand people - which also perfectly illustrates the number of people who want to make a child a star of the modeling business.
Castings
In order for their children to get a contract, parents are ready for a lot. “One day, I was with my baby child in a casting,” says Victoria Laufer. “A small room with many children, with one or two parents. Naturally, this was a two or three hour queue. I was amazed at such castings most of all, parents. They created some kind of strange excitement, they could yell at each other, be aggressive. Many parents behave as if in rush hour they stand in a queue at a supermarket. I can still understand if shooting a child is financial helping the family due solely of ambition and confidence of parents that their child is "the most beautiful". I saw there belonged to the other children, and I would not want my child to and treated the same. "
Often, the conditions of such "reviews" can hardly be called acceptable. “Castings can last for seven hours, and six hundred people can stand in a queue and more,” says Shugaypova. “You cannot leave the queue, they will take their place. Anything happened in them: once a child could not stand the waiting time at a casting in the Cosmos Hotel and , sorry, crap one's pants. This is a complete mockery. " “We are invited to the castings, but we don’t go to them,” says Dmitrieva. “We were on a couple or three, and I’m not ready to sit in a long line. Many children are sick, crying, this atmosphere is very depressing. The format is closer to me when my child is chosen in advance and they call us specifically on the basis of at least some primary selection. "
“To tell children that they have no model future is very cruel to them. Yes, parents can also be hurt by such words,” reminds Shugayipova. “Some may perceive it as if they were told:“ Your child - marriage "".
Conditions
Conditions on the set - this is another problem of children's modeling business. "Due to the fact that this market is new, the labor rights of the children are violated," continues Shugaipova. "Children should work no more than four hours in a ventilated room and under adult supervision. Clients often do not think about it and don’t admit that then they must be held responsible for it. Unfortunately, we don’t have leverage on the client. We can’t do anything. " “The conditions at the shooting can be monitored by parents,” Victoria Laufer does not agree. “This is even a mandatory requirement. Assistants should clarify in advance what time the child sleeps and what time it can be removed. Some kind of horror, like disgusting studios or lack of food, I have not heard: our customers are more or less decent. "
The legal relationship between the model and the agency or photographer is formalized by a civil contract. It should stipulate the conditions for participation in the shooting, the rights to the created image, the procedure for using the obtained images. For children under 14 years of age, the agreement is signed by parents or other legal representatives. At the age of 14 to 18, models can sign it themselves, but with parental consent, as a rule, the signature of the parent is in the same document. The bottleneck of such contracts is that talking about processing in this case is not very correct, because formally shooting is not a job. Employment contracts can in principle be concluded only from the age of 14, unless the employer is a theater, circus or cinematographic organizations. There are a lot of nuances in them, such as permission from a guardianship authority or compulsory medical examination, so they are very rarely concluded.
Parents
In fact, this business generally rests on parents who, for various reasons, bring their children to castings and shootings. “Children will not succeed without mom and dad,” Alina Shugaypova believes. “Let us recall, for example, Millu Jovovich: she is a talented actress known to everyone. She“ made herself ”thanks to mom Galina Loginova. I think that without moms nothing It was. They believe in their children, and this is good. I am proud of them, but so far I can not find the line between the “healthy” and the “unhealthy” hobby. Moms are too hard, demanding and even cruel - I can not agree with such methods. But if mother is hopeless, then the child will not shoot anywhere, and no one about him He knows. "
What moves parents who want their child to become a star-model? At first glance, it seems that vanity and your own unrealized ambitions - but in fact, not everything is so simple. “Parents bring their children for several reasons,” says Alina Shugaypova. “Some say,“ This is a future star! I want my child to shine on the cover of Vogue tomorrow. ”We then look at this star under a magnifying glass, trying to combine desires and opportunities and we speak objectively as they are. Others say they want to give a child the opportunity to try their hand. When children spend hours in front of a mirror, they like to read poetry and dress up, we give them a chance to plunge into this atmosphere. Still others say: “The child grew up and closed. "This psychological work that allows a girl to open up and believe in her beauty. We take her under our care and help her to love herself. Sometimes parents ask: "How to make the child become a supermodel?" It is strange for me to hear such questions because of a single recipe No. Besides, this is hardly the first thing parents should think about when their child is four or even a year old. "
“The goals can be different, from healthy to pathological,” explains the psychologist and physician of the Rassvet clinic of evidence-based medicine Grigory Misyutin. Pathology, in my opinion, begins when the child becomes a means to achieve the goals of the parents themselves or when the show or shooting turns out more important than regular contact with a child. You should not demonize parents in advance who help children to realize their abilities and talents. Not all of them really realize their hidden desires through children. Most parents still working to ensure that the child can find himself in creativity, sports or science, I think we can talk about “safe” and “unsafe” parenthood, but you should not see in every parent who wants a child to succeed, a tyrant and a despot. How can a parent determine if he goes too far? Very simple: pay attention to whether the child has time to be a child, and he himself has time to be a parent. "
Children should work no more than four hours in a ventilated room and under the supervision of adults. Clients often don't think about it.
What threatens the child with the desire of parents to make him a star? It depends on what price moms and dads are willing to pay to see the child as the star of any advertising campaign. “Parents do not realize how hard it can be for children,” says Laufer. “Often they don’t understand if their child wants to be a model in principle. Once they get used to increased attention, first success, status, children can hardly refuse it, and there is no guarantee that a child model will be able to continue a career as an adult. It can even break a life. I wouldn’t want my children to face it. "
“The question is how deeply the parents put the thought of a future star in the child’s head,” says Misyutin. “It’s important to let the child know in advance that many people try, but not everyone becomes a star, it’s easier for him to transfer the lack of star status he will not achieve it. At the same time, it is necessary to monitor the correct formation of the child’s self-esteem so that he does not have a parallel: “If I passed the casting or received the contract, I’m good, and if not, then I’m bad, I’m not good at all” With the wise approach of parents, the child will teach I accept the reality with its ins and outs, and you yourselves will always perceive significant regardless of the level of popularity. If reasonable approach to self-realization of the child and take into account all of its interests, it is possible to develop a resistance to stress, planning skills, emotional regulation, efficiency and awareness. "
Children
What do child models think about their careers? Их мнение сильно зависит от того, в каких условиях им приходилось сниматься. "Когда мне было пять лет, мама отправила меня на конкурс красоты и с тех пор продвигала меня в модельной карьере", - говорит юная Кьяра в интервью с широкой улыбкой. В нём она с упоением рассказывает о съёмках и показах - но убедительнее всего звучит её признание и особенно эмоции, с которыми она его делает: да, подписать модельный контракт (например, с Ford Models или IMG) ей очень хочется.In The Telegraph's article “The Life of Model Children (and the Mothers Behind It)”, very little Athena, answering the journalist's question about whether she likes casting and filming, answers with children's spontaneity: “Mom gives me sweets.”
Actress Winona Ryder, who had experience casting in childhood, on the contrary, speaks of their danger to the child. She told how during the auditions she was called ugly and offered to do something else. This is very cruel when a child is judged by his appearance, says the actress, who has become, nevertheless, a real Hollywood celebrity.
In addition, there has long been talk that the media and advertising "sexualize" child models and make them "little adults." A great scandal caused at the time of shooting for the children's application of the French Vogue with the participation of "the most beautiful girl in the world" Tilan Blondeau in 2011, at that time the model was only ten years old. Despite the fact that co-author of the provocative shooting was designer Tom Ford, it is believed that she influenced the withdrawal of editor-in-chief Karin Roitfeld from the publication. At the same time, Tylin herself continues her modeling career: she is signed by the IMG agency and is the ambassador of L'Oréal Paris.
Many times adult photographers have asked me to strip naked "because all the models do this, and you want to be it"
The twenty-four-year-old Muscovite Maria A. (the girl asked not to indicate her real name) did not become an adult model, but she still remembers her childhood experience. “I was thirteen years old,” says Maria. “I was a painfully thin girl. One photographer found me through VKontakte and called me to do tests. I remember that I went to my first photo with my mother because it was scary - after all, my uncle An adult. After that, a chain reaction began, and quite famous in narrow circles began to call me photographers. I was not taken to modeling agencies because of non-standard growth, but they offered to “drop money" and go to children's model schools. I refused. I was definitely disappointed my lack of demand b, but at the same time she also forced to continue to be photographed and lose weight further. "
Looking back, the girl admits that the situations she faced when she was 13-14 years old were “normal”: “Many times adult photographers asked me to strip naked“ because all the models do this, and you want to be like that. ” I was told that my face was “too wide and full of face.” Then it was perceived as a wild injection of self-esteem - given that this is a normal structure of my face and even with a weight of 40 kilograms I look like that. Or they openly indicated that my hips became fat - such things hurt even adult models that have long business, but imagine what it is like to hear a child with complexes. Perhaps the worst thing is that because of the gap in the status between you and a cool photographer, you really think that this is a standard way to success. Then, to become a model, I was ready to to much. "
PHOTO: fox searchlight pictures, dior
