Model wannabes walk rocky road to achieve their dreams

JAKARTA (JP): The path to the glittering catwalks of high fashion is lined with pitfalls for many aspiring models.

A beautiful face is not enough in the fiercely competitive world of modeling, insiders point out.

Exacting physical standards are required of prospective models. Male runway and high fashion models in Indonesia must be a minimum height of 1.77 meters; women are required to be at least 1.75 meters tall and wear a svelte dress size of 8 (American) or 36 (European).

Favored features for female models include wide set eyes, high cheekbones and full lips. Agents hunt for young models aged 14 and 15 years in a profession in which the first signs of crow's feet and laugh lines are reasons for panic.

Even physical perfection does not assure success as talent and personality also come into play in packaging models, agents warn.

Despite the drawbacks, young Indonesian girls continue to dream of being the next Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, or, closer to home, Larasati or Avi Basuki.

Not surprisingly, a host of modeling schools and agencies have set up operations for model wannabes.

Yetty Iman Abdullah, a catwalk instructor at OQ modeling school, said that all applicants are welcome as there is no rigid criteria based on conforming to a particular look. OQ, which has been in business for about eight years, is run by former top model Okky Asokawati and employs 10 instructors.

Students are drawn to the school for different reasons, Yetty said.

"Many young Jakartans flock to us and our classes are always fully booked. Jakarta youths do not only wish to become models when they enroll in our classes, as many of them just want to know how to put on their make-up better, how to walk better or simply how to feel good."

It takes time to sort out the candidates with potential from the also-rans, she added. "You can only tell whether a student is suited to become a model after he or she has taken the course, particularly the basic 3-and-a-half-month class."

She said that students intent on becoming models must measure up to the physical standards, have a good walking style and sense of beat. Symmetrical, regular features are important for photo models.

At OQ, basic classes cover catwalk modeling, choreography, hair and make-up, etiquette, table manners, photomodeling and nutrition.

The basic class costs Rp 900,000. Advanced classes, which have a smaller number of participants and are handled by Okky herself, vary in fee.

Yetty concedes that only an elite few of the school's more than 1,000 graduates over the years have gone on to a modeling career, but says the training stands others in good stead for parts in commercials or sinetron television serials.

"Many production houses approach us," she said. "Graduates of modeling schools are more self-confident and posses basic acting skills needed to play in sinetron."

"If they do want to become a model, we offer them a contract at our agency. Those who don't want to be tied down usually free- lance and can still be contacted by us for a show."

Modeling agencies here perform an important but less prominent role from their counterparts in the West. While models in major fashion centers such as New York are always represented by an agency, such as major powers Eileen Ford and Elite, many Indonesian models work on a freelance basis.

Part-time hobby

Chitra Triadi, head of Image Modeling Agency, believes many young Indonesian models are pampered and lack the professionalism and maturity of teenage models in the West. Indonesian teenage models often view their work as a part-time hobby, she added.

Chitra, herself a former model, said that models wanting to make it to the top cannot rely on the standard formula of a tall, slender body and good face. They need special qualities which distinguish them from other beautiful people, she said, citing expressive eyes, a great smile, intelligence, and, most importantly, self-control.

"Self-control is key because the model will be working for hours at a time as a high-status salesperson with various members of a team, including the make-up artist, hairdresser, art director, photographer or cameraman, clients, and commercial director."

She has a total of 100 models at her agency, with 40 of them under contract and the remainder called on for freelance assignments. The agency is known for commercial modeling, which discounts the more rigid physical requirements of high fashion. The wide range of models on the agency's books include babies as young as three months old, children, teenagers, young adults and middle-aged men and women.

Her three talent scouts usually recruit models from the field and a network of friends, while eager parents also submit photographs of their children for an assessment.

The levels of experience and capabilities at Image Modeling Agency are classified into different categories, such as debutante models during the first two years of work, seasoned top models, and character figures.

Chitra said models promoting products are usually put under a contract drafted by Image for periods varying from one to three years and, occasionally, as long as five years.

A strict manager, she said models receive two warnings for violations of agency rules before being placed on a blacklist. This is lifted once a model proves more cooperative, professional and, most importantly, willing to learn, she added.

A staff member from the agency customarily acts as a chaperone for a model on a shoot to assure that he or she receives professional treatment, including regularly scheduled meals, Chitra said.

This arrangement is also required for work outside of Jakarta and abroad under terms specified in the contract. The agency takes a standard 20 percent cut of the model's fees, she added. (team)