Does W magazine not pay its models? That’s the assertion made by writer Leslie Kelly, who, in an essay appearing in today’s Seattle Post-Intelligencer, asserts that her then 14-year-old daughter Claire, left, never saw a cent after appearing in a story about designer Pat Kerr [Who? -Ed.] in the January ’06 issue of the magazine. Not that she’s complaining! “Claire was 14 and wearing an antique lace wedding dress,” writes Kelly. “Talk about your classic plucked-from-obscurity story.” We’ll say! Kelly continues: “…Models just starting out can expect to make somewhere between $200 and $700 for a day’s work… [But] when you are photographed for editorial, like for the pages of W or Justine, there’s no pay involved at all, just the incredible exposure and an impressive page for your book.” Or an impressive story?
Anyway, we rang up W spokeswoman Andrea Kaplan, who seemed just as shocked as we were. “Every model who gets booked for W magazine gets paid,” she insisted. “Sounds to me from reading this article that this girl’s mom is friends with whoever this Pat Kerr person is, and the designer was just trying to do her friend’s daughter a favor.” We never thought we’d agree with fashion magazine, but it sounds that way to us, too.
My Model Daughter [Seattle Post-Intelligencer]