#freeloaders

By Rachel Rebibo

In 90% of fashion editorials for magazines, everyone on the team is either paid next to nothing or NOTHING AT ALL.

Fashion editorials are essentially free branded content for billionaire parent companies which own the luxury designers that advertise in magazines.

Fashion magazines “claim” to have no money when they ask you to work for free, but that’s not entirely true. They do have money. They just usually spend it all on a totally baller photo shoot somewhere terribly remote and glamorous, then tell everyone else contributing to that issue that they have no budget. Editors will kindly inform you that of course there is no money for this shoot, then turn around and fly to fashion weeks around the world, happily gramming their $10,000 first class seats.

There’s something deeply psychologically manipulative about telling people that they should be so thrilled to have the opportunity to work with (insert magazine) that expecting to be compensated for said work is ridiculous.

Why on earth would so many of us would put up with this system? Because in theory the exposure you receive from shooting editorials and magazine covers is supposed to eventually lead to big bucks from massive advertising campaigns with swanky luxury brands.

Just recently I received an email from a Vogue (I won’t say which one but it’s big and European), where the editor asked permission to use an image of mine “for credit,” meaning that instead of paying me, they will simply include my name next to my photograph.

Credit doesn’t pay my rent, Vogue.

This shouldn’t need to be said, but if you are making money off of someone else’s work, you need to pay them for that work. Period.

And I think they're pretty reasonable, to be honest.

Don't get within 2 ft of my face, don't lick me, and don't put your cold wet nose on me.

And they can't even handle that. It was bad enough that they don't pay rent, I'm paying for all the food, and one of them just randomly throws up wherever he feels like it and leaves for me to find later. That's not even getting into how he yells at me constantly.

He seems to think that he can get by on his good looks, but that's not always enough.

The other just sleeps all day, all night. Doesn't do anything. She expects me to buy her drugs and fix her meals, and at regular intervals I have to stop what I'm doing, sit with her, and tell her she's pretty.

And she is pretty, don't get me wrong. Good looks don't pay the bills.