The secret life of a fashion model: rampant exploitation, scant rewards

Sara Ziff, formerly the face of Tommy Hilfiger, is trying to level the playing field for models, who, despite representing the epitome of luxury lifestyles, are at risk of being exploited sexually and financially in an opaque industry, writes Rose Hackman Sitting at a table in a scruffy restaurant in Chelsea, New York, Sara Ziff looks across the room at a handsome blond man in his 20s, unsuspectingly eating a slice of pizza by the window. She interrupts herself mid-sentence: "Do you think he has heard of the Model Alliance?" She laughs and imagines the interaction that might ensue were she to go over and ask him, "Hey, are you a model?" - a pick-up line she has doubtlessly heard many times.

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