Above: a fresh faced Sara Ziff
Over the course of filming, Ziff snuck her - now ex - boyfriend and film maker Ole Schell into fashion shows, shoots, and parties (often resulting in him being thrown out, and/or having his camera confiscated) in order to gain a unique insight into the ins and outs of the fashion industry, along the way exposing some gritty truths.
The various clips of footage clearly document Ziff's 'falling out of love' with the industry that she was once excited to be a part of. She appears to transform from a happy-go-lucky teenager, bemused at seeing her own image plastered up on billboards and amazed by $100,000 dollar cheques, to an exhausted and disillusioned young woman, keen to break free of the career that had her earning more than her father (a neuroscientist professor) by the age of 20.
On the surface, while it may all sound a little 'woe is me', the reality depicted is an insightful contrast between the rich and glamorous side of the fashion industry, versus the dark and seedy. While we all know deep down that dodgy deals and cocaine lurk in the shadows of fashion, it becomes more poignant to hear it first hand from the girls who are desensitised to this way of life.
Below: model Senna Cech, who reveals the seedy tactics employed by respected photographers
Fellow model Sena Cech talks to the camera matter of factly, about her experience with "a very famous" photographer, who asked her to take off her clothes during a casting. Nothing new about that, but the photographer then proceeds to take his clothes off, while his assistant says to Cech: "Sena — can you grab his cock and twist it real hard... He likes it when you squeeze it real hard and twist it."
Staring straight at the camera, Cech says, "I did it, but later I didn't feel good about it". Needless to say, she booked the job.
To her credit, Cech came to her senses and turned it down - she was never booked by that photographer again -, but it clearly demonstrates the dirty tactics and power struggle between photographers and their subjects. Here, these men use their credibility and influence in the fashion world to bribe young girls, in return for furthering their careers. What's shocking is that the film makes it clear that Cech's experience isn't a unique one.
Industry standards certainly seem to contribute to the problem; girls are discovered young, often plucked from small and remote towns, and taken to big foreign cities to model, where they are essentially left to fend for themselves, with no parent or guardian.
Below: Sena Cech. Do we take it for granted that a model hasn't felt pressured into nudity?
Ziff says: "It doesn't happen in front of anyone. It happens in the dark recesses. Pretty much every girl I have talked to has a story like it, but no one talks about it. It's all under the radar because people are embarrassed and because the people in the industry who are doing these things are much more powerful, and the model is totally disposable. She could be gone in two years."
A similar interview with a 16 year old model details her experience at a photo shoot in Paris, with "one of the world's top names" in photography. Inexperienced and unaccompanied by any guardian or parent, she leaves the studio to go to the bathroom and meets the photographer, who starts fiddling with her clothes, before suddenly putting his hand between her legs and sexually assaulting her.
The interview didn't make the final version of the film, as the day before the premiere, the girl changed her mind for fear of the repercussions.
Ziff tells the Guardian: "She has no experience of boys, she hasn't even been kissed. She was so shocked she just stood there and didn't say anything. He just looked at her and walked away and they did the rest of the shoot. And she never told anyone." She adds, "there is a lot of shame in telling a story like that, but it is really widespread.
Curious as to who these 'well known' photographers could be, a quick google search seemed to link controversial and sexually explicit photographer Terry Richardson with Sena Cech's story.
Above: Richardson's famous shot of glossy Maybelline model Josie Moran simulating fellatio with a cow's udder. Somewhere in this picture, she is apparently modelling for Italian fashion brand Sisley, although personally that's not coming through to me...
It seems that New York blog Jezebel posted a link to the Guardian article about Picture Me (the article details the aforementioned allegations made by Cech), alongside an image of Richardson receiving, ahem, 'manual stimulation'. Pretty clear what the blog is trying to suggest really, isn't it?
Except, maybe not, because in a further twist - and perhaps to cover their backs - Jezebel added a clarification, noting that Richardson's image was only used because of a comment he'd made in an interview with Hint Mag where he said: "It's not who you know, it's who you blow. I don't have a hole in my jeans for nothing."
The author of Jezebel's blog was an anonymous writer named Tatiana, who is rumoured to be none other than Sara Ziff.
Arguably, it is possible that Ziff - now said to be a student at Columbia University - would want to 'lift the lid' further than her film was able to do, by naming and shaming sordid photographers.
Below: Richardson with Daisy Lowe. Now that's just plain creepy.
Below: Richardson captures some of the world's most photographed models, blurring the lines between a 'fashion shoot' and soft porn
(Left to right): Eniko Mihalik, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Catherine McNeil, Abbey Lee Kershaw, Daisy Lowe, Gracie Carvalho, Marloes Horst, Lily Cole, Ana Beatriz Barros, Miranda Kerr, Georgina Stojiljkovic
Anyway, I digress, and of course it's only speculation that Richardson was the unnamed photographer in Cech's story. But it is a revealing insight to find out that top names in photography are abusing the silence of young, impressionable models.
Within the media, we are so used to hearing about the negative influences of fashion on normal girls i.e. the 'consumers', yet the pressures on the actual young models are often less documented.
The reality is, designers want the 'new' girl every season, and it would seem that young 'flesh' is highly desirable. In the belief that clothes look better on slim, androgynous frames, the catwalks therefore look to young gangly teenage models, whose bodies are not yet fully developed.
This very fact is attributed to the pressure to stay thin. Quite simply, 'older' models (so you're looking at 24 onwards) find themselves competing against younger, thinner girls, and thus find that they have to resort to unnatural measures in order to stay thin like them.
Above: Belarusian model Tanya D, known for her 'alien' looks is featured in Picture Me (then aged 16), where she describes feeling older than her years. She started modelling at 14, but praises the industry for being "a good school"
Another aspect of fashion that the film got me questioning, is the use of nudity. Fashion has always been sexually provocative, but I can't help but think that there has been a rise in sexually explicit material over the last few years, where full frontal nudity and/or sexually explicit shots have become even more common place in high fashion magazines and the mainstream media, than they were before.
Below: American Apparel (whose chief executive has been the subject of several sexual harassment cases) have become notorious for their use of young girls in overtly sexualised shots to advertise their products
The AA advert below was infamously banned in the UK by the Advertising Standards Agency for being "seen to sexualise a model who appeared to be a child, under the age of 16 years" (although it has to be pointed out, the model was 23)
Take the recent edition of Love magazine, which featured eight of the world's most in demand models - including Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Lara Stone - each stark naked on one of the 8 covers.
I can't help but wonder about each individual model's circumstances and reasons for agreeing to shoots such as this; whether they are fully comfortable with nudity and whether there is a sense of obligation to comply with a photographer's vision 'because every other successful model is doing it'.
Amongst the younger, less established models, is it a case of, "well if Kate and Naomi are doing it, I can't say no"? And with the seasoned pro's, is there pressure to keep up -and prove themselves still worthy - with the younger models of the moment?
Below: each of the Love magazine covers. A cheap use of nudity in order to cause a stir, or art?
Whatever your thoughts on the ethics of the industry, the film offers a unique perspective of the fashion world, and is definitely worth a watch.
And hey, with Spencer Tunick's latest nude installation at the Sydney Opera House successfully gathering over 5000 people willing to pose sans clothing, maybe nudity is no longer so 'shocking' to the masses anyway.
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