One of Frost’s favourite things this week was being told about this site, that lets you know what dress size you are, by our writer Alexa Brown. It is a great site where you just move the tab around and it tells you what dress size you are in all of the different stores. From Top Shop to Jigsaw. Have fun!
You can also follow the creator on Twitter
Victoria Keon-Cohen has spent the last ten years working as a fashion model and knows both the highs and lows of the job. “I hated modelling for a long time because of the isolation. I was constantly gritting my teeth to get through the day. The industry is a far cry from what it was in the 1980s; there is now an oversupply of labour, and models are seen as disposable.”
Victoria describes the difficulties of the profession: “I was working in Milan and felt like I was a dog in the gutter half the time. I spent four hours every night in the gym just from loneliness. I had never been so unhappy in my life. The final pushing point came when I had a serious conflict with my agency, so I left.” After quitting the profession she moved back to London to study. Whilst there she met with Dunja Knezevic, a fellow model and friend, and they talked about their dissatisfaction at the industry.
“We exchanged stories of frustration. We’d both had great experiences as well but the inconsistencies were intolerable. One day a girl was dancing in the park for money to get a motel because her agency refuses to advance [money for] their own flat, the next day she’s in a luxurious villa in Spain” said Victoria.
Their conversation led them to consult Equity, the union for performers in the entertainment industry, and ask them to allow models to join. Towards the end of 2007 they succeeded in their request and the Equity Models Committee was formed.
One of the Committee’s biggest successes occurred last year when Equity, working alongside the British Fashion Council (BFC) as part of the Model Programme, introduced the first ever catwalk contract for London Fashion Week, setting out minimum rates of pay, private changing areas, breaks and refreshments. It also included a clause stating that nudity or semi-nudity must be agreed in advance, helping younger and more vulnerable models avoid being pressured into agreeing work that makes them uncomfortable.
This year Victoria, Dunja and the rest of the committee are focusing on a campaign called London Promotes in association with the BFC and the Model Programme. The campaign will include a viral video due to be shown on fashion blogs, social networking sites and both the BFC and Equity websites. The name highlights the important aspects of the campaign:
Privacy: care and backstage code of conduct.
Rates: ensures payment at least equal to the Model Programme recommended minimums.
Opportunities: for models to obtain prestigious British and international campaigns.
Model Programme: an alliance of the AMA, BFC and the Greater London Authority (GLA) working together for models’ welfare.
Of Age: Only models over 16 walking on the London Fashion Week catwalks.
Terms: conditions of employment covered by the Model Programme’s minimum terms.
Equity: joining the Union for models offers the right to Union protection.
Sanctuary: The Models Sanctuary provides a safe haven for models working during London Fashion Week.
One of the key benefits of union representation for models is legal support in case of any dispute with an agency or client, as well as facial insurance in case of accident. Dunja gives this advice to models starting out in the industry: “Join the union before you have an issue at work because Equity cannot help with any problems you may have had before becoming a member.”
She goes to give a realistic view of the job: “It’s nothing like what you would expect so treat it as the serious business that it is. Forget the glamour and exorbitant cheques. But expect an incredible experience of travel and making connections that you never would have made otherwise.”
This latest campaign looks set to change the fashion industry for the better once again at London Fashion Week. As Victoria explains, “London Promotes is looking to the future for an industry built on respect and support, with opportunities and a strong network of collaboration between Equity, the Models Programme and the Mayor’s office [GLA]. It’s a massive turning point for an industry where no one is just out for themselves anymore; it acknowledges that we have to work together for a stronger workplace for us all.”
Alexa Brown is an actress and model and a member of the Equity Model’s Committee. www.alexabrown.co.uk
This article was previously published in the September issue of Style Capital magazine.
It is just over six months since I was diagnosed with coeliac disease. Since then I have not intentionally eaten any gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. This means no warm French bread, no buttered crumpets, no tea cakes, hot cross buns, scones or pancakes; no Hobnobs, crackers or Twixes; no spaghetti bolognese, sausage rolls, pizza or soy sauce; no muesli or porridge, flapjacks or hot fruit pies. No Yorkshire puddings, gravy or stock cubes; no French Fancies, Battenberg or lemon drizzle cake.
Do I miss it? Well yes, painfully so. But as I frequently remind myself, there are far worse treatments to a lifelong disease than having to change your diet.
Coeliac disease is a genetic autoimmune disease. This means that eating the trigger for the disease – gluten – causes the body to attack itself. It blunts the villi on the inside of the small intestine, stopping normal absorption of food. Over time this can lead to osteoporosis, anaemia, diabetes, infertility or frequent miscarriage, lymphoma and bowel cancer. It causes severe digestive symptoms, mouth ulcers and tiredness among a long list of other symptoms, and is often misdiagnosed for years. Sticking to a strict gluten-free diet for life is the only treatment, but it is an effective one.
The strictness of diet doesn’t just mean avoiding the obvious suspects such as bread or pasta. It means using a separate chopping board to avoid gluten contamination, using a separate toaster or toaster bags, and checking ingredient listings for obscure additions such as wheat protein in ice-cream or yoghurt, or barley malt flavouring in chocolate bars (goodbye Snickers, goodbye Mars bars). Oats can be eaten by some people but they have to be specially bought, non-contaminated ones, as cereals are frequently milled together. Beer is also ruled out. Oh and chips are usually coated in flour before frying.
On the plus side, because of the higher cost of gluten-free food and the necessity of strict adherence to the diet, several items are available on prescription. Having just received my first load of bread, spaghetti, pizza bases, flour and more, I have found it entertaining to eat a packet of biscuits with ‘Use as directed by the doctor’ on the side. Four a day with a cup of tea?
Although there are gluten-free replacements for most foods, usually made of corn, rice, potatoes or tapioca, I do feel the absence of much loved foods, as may be apparent from the food list above. However, one of the most difficult things about the disease is other people’s reactions. Coeliac disease affects approximately 1% of the population but it is hugely under-diagnosed. This means that of that 1% only a small proportion know they have it. As a result the disease isn’t well known to many people, including those who run cafes or restaurants, and the medical necessity of the diet is often misunderstood.
When I have been offered something to eat at a social occasion, for example a cake at a party, and have explained why I can’t eat it, people’s reactions fall in to a variety of camps. As well as kinder or more helpful responses I have been scoffed at and told not to be so fussy, accused of health paranoia and self-diagnosing an intolerance (diagnosis is via a blood test and endoscopy if you were wondering), and have been taunted about how lovely something I can’t eat tastes.
Now this isn’t the worst thing in the world to put up with, but I do wonder how many other illnesses are treated with such misunderstanding at best and dismissiveness at worst. The rise of gluten intolerance and gluten-free diets through choice has created an increase in products available, which is great for coeliacs, but also a perception of faddishness or health neuroticism. Those with coeliac disease seem to get lumped in with this perception.
The other main obstacle is eating at cafes or restaurants. Some well-known chains have one or two dishes available, usually with some modification, but often it is necessary to phone ahead to check the menu or make special arrangements. It can be necessary to ask for something to be cooked in a separate pan to avoid contamination, or to check individual ingredients such as stock cubes. Personally I find having to make such requests embarrassing; if the disease were better-known, eating out would be much more enjoyable. The training of catering staff hugely differs. I have been assured in a top end restaurant that something will be fine for me “because all our food is organic” (erm…) or told that something is gluten free when, after several days of pain and tiredness, I can assure them it is not.
The leading charity for the disease, Coeliac UK, is holding an awareness week from the 16th to the 22nd of May. They’re asking people to go gluten free for a short period, to provide gluten-free options at their workplace or school, or to hold gluten-free dinner parties. You could also try looking, as an experiment, at the nutrition labels of your usual lunch or dinner to see how many times it contains gluten. Maybe have a look at what your alternatives would be if you had to give it up or had to provide an alternative for someone else. And next time you meet someone who explains they have coeliac disease, please don’t taunt them with a Jammy Dodger…
For more information on coeliac disease including symptoms please visit www.coeliac.org.uk.
If you would like to take part in the Awareness Week please click here: http://www.coeliac.org.uk/node/146078
If you would like to donate to Coeliac UK you may consider sponsoring a 10 km run I will be doing for them in July:
http://www.justgiving.com/AlexaBrown
By Alexa Brown, donate to her run here
Equity has opened its doors to Models and a new catwalk contract has been introduced in time for London Fashion Week (starting later this week on the 17th)
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It seems impossible that in 2010 in the UK there could be areas of work uncovered by contracts, established breaks or health and safety procedures. It seems more unlikely still that it happens in one of the most glamorous, expensive and envied industries: fashion. Although the fashion industry is subject to the same standards and employment laws as any other area of business it has long operated as if under separate rules, working to its own high artistic standards but with little thought for issues such as the minimum wage or employee’s rights. In the fight to get to the top, standards of employment law fall by the wayside.
“there is an expectation of working for long hours to earn little money, putting up with nudity being demanded in photo-shoots, sexual harassment from photographers. In the early part of a model’s career, often in their teens, this work will be for free.”
Slowly and surely this is beginning to change. At the end of 2007 Equity, the Union for performers in the entertainment industry, agreed, at the request of two pioneering models, Victoria Keon-Cohen and Dunja Knezevic, that models working in the fashion industry should be eligible to join the Union. In 2008 Equity formed a Models Committee to take forward the concerns of the founding members: the lack of protection models have at work, and the lack of recourse when anything should go wrong. In such a competitive profession there is an expectation of working for long hours to earn little money, putting up with nudity being demanded in photo-shoots, sexual harassment from photographers and few, if any, breaks or refreshments. In the early part of a model’s career, often in their teens, this work will be for free as they build up their portfolio.
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The Equity Models Committee now consists of 7 models and Hilary Hadley, the Union Officer. Their current campaign is focused on addressing the lack of professional credits for models work in editorial shoots and websites. The Committee has also been involved in the work to establish the first ever catwalk contract, which will be in use for this coming London Fashion Week (17th to the 21st September). Created through Equity with the British Fashion Council, and other members of the Model Programme, a body set up to ensure the well-being of models during London Fashion week, the contract sets out the minimum terms and conditions a model should expect when employed to walk at a catwalk show.
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This new contract sets out minimum rates of pay including holiday pay, fitting fees, breaks, refreshments, health and safety requirements, changing areas that provide privacy (models are usually expected to change in full view of the catwalk show’s staff) and agreements on nudity/semi-nudity that must be made before the model is booked to work. As well as providing what should legally be there, the new contract also provides models with respect, acknowledging their work as a profession rather than expecting individual, often very young girls, to accept whatever working conditions are offered.
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This new contract marks the beginning of the end for a self-regulated industry. In an environment where models are the lowest in the pecking order and are expected to work without complaint in the hope of becoming one of the lucky ones and making good money, the new Equity Committee provides support, legal assistance and new regulations to make what should be an enjoyable and profitable career safer and more in line with modern employment practices.
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For more information on Equity and if you are a model seeking union representation, please click here.
by Alexa Brown
Alexa Brown is an actress and model, and a member of the Equity Models Committee.
Beauty recommendations are sometimes PR hype. We were not given any of these products for free and this is all from personal recommendation.
As a refreshing alternative, we offer this list of tried and tested products, some familiar, some enjoyably obscure.
MeMeMe Fat Cat Mascara
Mascara
MeMeMe Fat Cat Lashes. The wand has a huge brush that creates long, feather-like lashes, similar in style to Diorshow but at a fraction of the price. £7.99
Face
Clarins Beauty Flash Balm. Yes it’s expensive but if you’re hungover, have a date or need a quick face perk-up you’ll be glad of this little miracle. Apply in small quantities for an immediate healthy glow. £26.50
Boots Botanics Sensitive Skin Cleansing Lotion. A lovely and gentle cleanser that clears the skin, moisturises it and removes make-up. £3.99
Lancome Photogenic Lumessence
Foundation
Lancôme Photogenic Lumessence. Want people to hate you because they think you have naturally perfect skin? Pop this on your birthday list. Another pricey one but it lasts for months and makes you glow with health. Albeit from a bottle. £27.50
Rose & Co Apothecary Rose Petal Salve
Lips
Rose & Co Apothecary Rose Petal Salve. A rose-smelling salve that can also be used as a brow tamer, cuticle softner, elbow and knee softner and it comes in lots of flavours including cherry kiss and the yummy sounding strawberry crush. £5.00
Hair
Charles Worthington Brilliant Shine Shampoo and Conditioner. No need to spend silly money on big name brands, this does the same job and makes your hair soft and shiny. £4.55 each.
Let us know how you get with the recommendations, or please share any of your own favourites.
By Alexa Brown
Mother and daughter team, Florence and Florence, are a particularly endearing set-up. In their front room in north London we have arranged ourselves amongst pots of tea and decorative cake stands to discuss their new business selling ‘re-loved’ vintage goods. The conversation pings about between them; sentences are shared and overlapped as they discuss the perils of living and working together, the unexpected benefits of the recession and their shared love of all things second-hand.
“Mum’s always done what we do with Florence and Florence, collecting beautiful things and mending them, and making things from re-loved material. We’ve had so many people comment on it in our house over the years. I think Mum thought it was something everybody did” says her daughter, Annie, 25. Since October last year when they came up with the idea the two women, Annie and Chris, 54, have been sourcing second-hand kitchen equipment, furniture, tea sets, picnic sets, old Penguin books, luggage trunks and much more, giving the old and battered items a lick of paint, new covers, or replacing their handles or loose stitching.
Annie explains their preference of the term ‘second-hand’ to ‘vintage’: “on eBay they’ll buy something from TK Maxx, sell it the next day and it’s ‘vintage’. It doesn’t mean anything. Some of our things are over 100 years old, some are newer, so we just wanted to say it is all second-hand.”
Although they reject the current vintage trend, their mission statement is to show the glamorous side of second-hand. Chris explains: “I was brought up with war-time parents who made everything. But I’m also a great believer in second-hand, so I’ve always bought second-hand clothes and second-hand furniture”. After sourcing the items from charity shops, markets and auctions they have set about making them beautiful again and ready to sell.
When they came up with the idea for Florence and Florence, Annie was training as a chartered surveyor (after a philosophy degree at UCL and an MSC in Real Estate Appraisal at Reading). Chris was running the administration for numerous companies including her husband’s, a collection of jobs she is continuing at present. Her career has been a varied one: “I gave up full time working in advertising when I had Will [her older son]. Then when Annie was five my husband and I set up our own business. So I was a full time Mum for seven years.”
Both women have always enjoyed sourcing beautiful second-hand things for their family home. There is a nostalgic quality to their products often harking from the 1940s and 50s. “I suppose the tea-time things are me with their Famous Five, back to the future feel, with sandwiches, cake – that’s harking back to my childhood” says Chris.
As a woman in her mid-fifties embarking on a new career, it is possible she draws a connection between herself and Florence and Florence’s products: “It’s the idea that these things have been loved and useful, like that slide box” she says, indicating an attractive wooden box full of small compartments. “Somebody’s had their treasured slide collection in it and it’s been discarded. Now we’ve put dividers in and made it lovely, and it will go on to be a jewellery box or something, somewhere else. I really like that idea, that things that have been loved or treasured are now going on to have another life.”
They both acknowledge the useful timing of the recession. “There’s definitely been a resurgence of interest in mending and making – I don’t really like the expression ‘make do and mend’ because making do implies compromise, being resigned to something less than perfect – but ‘make and mend’.”
Annie believes Florence and Florence can help younger people struggling in the recession who are unable to buy new products to furnish their homes. “A large part of our market will be people of my age, setting up their first home, post-university, finished with being a student who want a proper home with a proper look.”
The family business also includes Chris’s husband, Bill, who designed the logo and luggage tag-style labels. All three live together until Annie is able to move back out of the family home. The working dynamic seems very successful; the only awkward moment of the interview comes when they discuss the ups and downs of both living and working together. After copious amounts of praise Annie ventures her one dislike: “When we get home from sourcing and we’ve been out all day Mum will make me get out every single receipt, go through every product and have it all written down and catalogued immediately.” Chris defends herself but agrees: “The worst thing is this having to be the baddy and say “come on Annie, get the receipts out, I need to do this now” – having to nag at you to do the things which I know are important, but you don’t rate as high”.
It sounds pretty familiar to anyone who has tried to work in collaboration with a family member, and in general the division of labour seems to work comfortably between them. Chris runs the finances, the spreadsheets, and most of the sewing. Annie is in charge of developing the website, setting up the business processes, sales, and using social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to spread the Florence And Florence word.
Chris proudly explains how the business benefits from their different skills: “I’m not a parent who has to pretend I know everything about everything all the time – it’s being able to learn things from a grown-up daughter, and be able to say you do that, you’re the expert there.”
The benefit seems to work both ways. As well as Chris’s uber organisation, “Annie has the most amazing ability to say “Mum just be happy, enjoy it”. When I was getting really stressed about fitting everything in for the launch, Annie said no, think of it as a challenge, it’s thrilling, it’ll all be fine – and it was fine!”