Model behaviour

As someone who has worked backstage at many a fashion show, I have worked very closely with many models.

They are, for the most part, a totally different species. The glide, they don't walk, and they can pose in a way I have never seen.

With many people telling you day after day that you are beautiful, amazing... it would be hard to keep your feet on the ground, right? Well apparently it is practically impossible.

As an intern, it is very difficult to get people to take you seriously. I mean, you're basically a glorified work experience girl, and it can be pretty difficult to get yourself heard. Especially when you're put on model duty.

I am regularly given the splendid task of chasing models round, getting them through hair and make up, getting them dressed, putting them in line up and then finale order. When I was first assigned this task, I thought it would be pretty simple. I mean, these girls are getting paid to be here, they're at work. So when you're at work you want to be professional, right? You'll listen and do what you're told, cos that's you're job right? I mean, you would never dream of just disappearing without telling anyone where you were going, right? Wrong. They did all this, and more.

I was shouted at, if looks could kill I would have died 32 times over. They would have tantrums, scream, and I would regularly have to drag them out of toilets whilst they had their hands down their throats.

I felt like I was looking after school children, like I was on the worlds worst school trip. I was constantly having to run around trying to find them, stop them smoking, tell them to get hair and make up done, and I was getting nowhere. But it was me who would have to deal with a stressed out designer who didn't have her models ready because they would refuse.

The best is when they try and claim they have the hardest job ever: "Nobody understands how difficult this is, "we work really hard" ,"I don't want to do it I'm really tired" etc etc. SerIously?! I'm doing 18 hours a day 7 days a week and you have a hard job?! The greatest quote was, "Well some of the girls aren't getting paid very much..." I'm here for FREE love. that's right, FREE. They soon went quiet after that.

There was one girl in particular, who shall remain nameless. Her sole goal seemed to be to try and make my job as difficult as possible. She would shout in my face, refuse to move, bitch about me in a foreign language, refuse to answer when I spoke to her and just generally be a huge bitch. The way I dealt with it was to have a little cry to myself in private, then, I ate a Crunchie really loudly in front of her, feeling her get more and more wound up by it, knowing she couldn't have it. After that I just refused to acknowledge her, and she soon got very confused as to where she had to be, and realised very quickly how valuable the information I had was. Any show I work on now, if I see that name in the model list a little bit of dread fills me. Thankfully, it turns out her name is very common in her country.

There are, of course, some exceptions. Firstly, all male models are a dream, and that's not just because they are male. And models. They aren't too fussed about being there which means they do exactly what needs to be done. Mostly, they're just there to earn money, so they don't get big egos and try and compete with each other like the girls. They know all they have to do is get done up and walk, and that is exactly what they do. They eat the food so you don't have to worry that they'll faint, they're polite, chatty, and have personalities.

There are many female models that are good to work with too. I ten to find that the bigger deal the show is, the better behaved the models are, cos they know they are lucky to be there. And the best way to deal with the ones that aren't, is to take to rubbish, tell them as it is, and show no emotion. Just shout demands and walk away. If they think you're soft, you're doomed.

After all, there's no room for manners in fashion.