“I was standing there in a pair of Mickey Mouse knickers and a sports bra. I didn’t even have breasts yet.” – Sara Ziff, Picture Me
In her controversial documentary, Picture Me in NZ theatres September 30, Sara Ziff recounts one of her first experiences of the modelling world at the age of 14. Sadly these experiences where young girls are put into situations where they are open to sexual exploitation are the norm in an industry built on the sexualisation of women.
Sara Ziff and ex-boyfriend Ole Schell were able to capture hundreds of hours of footage over a five year period when Ziff would sneak Schell and his camera into fashion shows, shoots and parties mostly without the realisation of organisers and minders. Sometimes Schell would get caught and thrown out, but from the footage they have been able to create an insider’s account of one of the most secretive industries in the world.
Ziff and Schell filmed several interviews with some of Ziff’s colleagues including top fashion photographer Gilles Bensimon, one of the most successful female designers in the United States Nicole Miller and top models Caitriona Balfe, Sena Cech, Cameron Russell, Missy Rayder, Lisa Cant and more. Candidly the interviewees discuss their views and experiences of money, weight, age, disposability and sexual exploitation within the modelling world.
Ziff interviewed one model who described being sexually assaulted by one of the industry’s top photographers. The interview had to be pulled from the documentary the night before it premiered as the young model begged Ziff to remove it as the 16 year old was afraid of the repercussions. The Guardian reported the experience as told by Ziff:
“She has very little experience of modelling and is unaccompanied by her agency or parents. She leaves the studio to go to the bathroom and meets the photographer — ‘a very, very famous photographer, probably one of the world’s top names’, according to Ziff — in the hallway. He starts fiddling with her clothes. ‘But you’re used to this,’ says Ziff. ‘People touch you all the time. Your collar, or your breasts. It’s not strange to be handled like that.’ Then suddenly he puts his hands between her legs and sexually assaults her. ‘She has no experience of boys, she hasn’t even been kissed,’ says Ziff. ‘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.” – The Guardian, 2009
Although her documentary on the fashion industry is less than flattering, Ziff is grateful for the opportunities that it has given her. By the age of 20 she was out earning her father and brought her first apartment in New York. At times Ziff earned as much as US$150000 per day. In over a decade in the fashion industry, Ziff has modelled for some of the biggest fashion houses in the world including Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel, Marc Jacobs, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Kennith Cole, Stella McCartney, D&G and the Gap. She has also graced the covers of magazines such as Vogue, W, Elle and Marie Claire.
As recently as this year, the now 28 year old Ziff has given up modelling to finish her masters degree at Columbia University.
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There is something about me..
