Documentary Is Another Voice in the Underage Model

The documentary “Girl Model” opens with hundreds of scantily clad adolescent and teenage girls lined up in an auditorium. A model scout calls models one-by-one to the stage and begins commenting on their weight, body shape and signs of acne.

Heavy scrutiny of young supermodel hopefuls won’t come as a surprise to most people familiar with the business, but the film illuminates and personalizes some details to which even fashion insiders may not be privy.

The documentary, by Ashley Sabin and David Redmon, was first shown in the United States at this year’s South by Southwest festival in Austin, and at the IFC Center in New York City shortly after.

Natasha McKittrickDavid Redmon, left cheap football jerseys, and Ashley Sabin, the directors of “Girl Model”.

The narrative intertwines the stories of Ashley Arbaugh, a model scout, and Nadya, a 13-year-old girl from a poor family in Siberia. Ms. Arbaugh’s and Nadya’s paths cross on one of the scout’s trips on the Trans-Siberian Railway as she looks for girls who might be attractive to the Japanese fashion market. Nadya, who speaks only Russian, is handed a contract in English and Japanese and is promised $8,000. She is not told that her living costs will be deducted from that amount.

After many unsuccessful castings, Nadya returns to Russia in debt.

In one scene, Nadya’s modeling reel shows her staring and posing suggestively at the camera for what seemed like forever. “Nadya had images in her room of models and fashion images plastered up on her family house,” Ms. Sabin said. “And I think that as a young girl, when you see those images every day, that’s how you get drawn into that glamor and the allure and the mystery behind it. And the idea of being a top model was probably something she had considered. But at 13, 14, 15, how much can they really understand about the dreams versus the reality?”

Ashley Sabin and David RedmonA model casting in Russia shown in the film.

“Girl Model” comes about two months after the Council of Fashion Designers of America issued guidelines in hopes of regulating age standards in the industry. The mission statement on the council’s Web site reads: “Support the well-being of younger individuals by not hiring models under the age of 16 for runway shows; not allowing models under the age of 18 to work past midnight at fittings or shoots; and providing regular breaks and rest.” Still, it is a designer’s choice which model he or she uses. During New York Fashion Week in February, Eric Wilson reported that Marc Jacobs hired a 14- and 15-year-old for his fall 2012 runway show.

At the screening were representatives from Models Alliance, an advocacy group that aims to create better working conditions for models. Ms. Sabin said she hopes that organizations can use the film as a tool to create regulation, “or at least have a conversation about why there is such a lack of transparency in a marketplace that is predominantly young women.”

“Girl Model” will be shown at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in North Carolina from April 12 to 15. Full location listing.